Daughter of Juno, Leader of Demi-Gods
by FirstoftheAbyss
Summary: AU: Luke's survival leads to the disgrace of the battle-hardened, former leader of Camp-Halfblood, Persephone Jackson. Alone, humiliated, hurt and disinherited by her father and most of those she once called friends, she is offered another chance by the most unlikely of goddesses. What will she do with the opportunity?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Thanks for giving this story a chance, however before you start reading this fic you might want to read this little warning.**

 **First of all, I am dyslectic, English is a second language and I have no beta, so please don't judge me too hard for mistakes in spelling. I will do everything I can to minimise the number of these, but it is bound to happen.**

 **Second, as said in the summary: this is AU (alternate Universe). Whilst what you know of the universe is mostly the same, there are some differences. Most of these should quickly become clear in the story. However I will reveal that Persephone spent most of her teenage years in camp Half-Blood (She was extremely worried about her mom after being attacked by lastrygonians and hoped that she would be safer that way) and that both camps are much larger (each around 5000 demi-gods of fighting age) and have several smaller camps attached to them throughout the states.**

 **Thirdly, this is not a bashing story (at least not in my opinion), sure my like and dislike of certain characteristics, demi-gods, monsters and gods might be clear at some point, but it won't be my intent to bash them. So no slutty, air-headed Aphrodite, excessively stupid Ares-campers, neither will characters lose all their qualities due to the power of the almighty author (No stupid Anabeth).**

 **Lastly, recap this story will contain bloodshed, the occasional swearword and femslash (aka Yuri aka lesbians). If you somehow missed this on the summary, this was the last warning.**

 **To those who are still with me, I hope you enjoy the story .**

 **disclaimer: I swear upon the river styx that I don't own the rights upon the Percy Jackson-novels. (I do own a copy of the novels though)**

* * *

The girl sat silently in front of the entrance of the small cave, a dark but dry hole in a natural wall of stone and dust. She was shivering, despite what little warmth the small fire in front of her provided. The lack of warmth explained why she covered herself with an old and ragged looking trench coat.

Hugging her own legs as in an attempt to preserve her own warmth, it was nearly impossible to guess her age or figure. If it wouldn't have been for her fingers, which were long and slender, although not without calluses and the occasional times she raised her head, it would have been impossible to detect she was in her mid-teens, tanned and the owner of a pair of sea-green eyes.

The young woman stiffened for a single moment when she heard the soft sound of approaching footsteps behind her. Raising her head at the sound of the moving pebbles, there was a small tug at the corner of her mouth which became a little smirk. Moving her right hand towards her left, she plucked a capped pen from the inside of her sleeve.

A moment later her dark figure stood outlined against the illuminated wall.

She pointed her sword, an ancient leaf shaped blade, in the direction of the sound.

"Come out now!" She ordered with an angry tension in her voice. "The titans unleashed you for a reason!"

For a moment there was only silence between the swordswoman and her hidden guest, then there was the clearly notable sound of a step.

"They did not, Persephone." Replied a soft but regal sounding voice, whilst the fire behind Persephone grew in size. "But what happened to you?"

For a moment the girl, now revealed to be Persephone, stared down. Then she grinded her teeth.

"Why do you care?" She asked angrily. "It isn't like it mattered before, did it?"

The woman who walked towards her looked like a goddess, ironically that was exactly what she was.

She had high cheekbones which gave her royal features, plump red lips and large, soft brown eyes. Long licorice-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall of loose curls upon her shoulders and back, the contrast putting further emphasis upon her alabaster tone of her skin.

Despite her surroundings she wore a long simple looking white dress which seemed to shimmer like oil upon water. Both her wrists and left ankle were adorned with golden bangles. With her attribute, a lotusstaff in her hand, the Goddess stared down at the slightly smaller girl.

"Be mindful of your words, demigodess." She admonished the girl. "They've landed you in trouble before."

Persephone was visibly forcing her preferred reply back down her throat after those words.

Taking a deep breath, Persephone aimed her gaze at the goddess.

"What brings you here, Lady Hera?" she asked her, only just succeeding in keeping the anger out of her voice.

A small smile adorned the features of the Queen of the Gods, before it was replaced by a mixture of curiosity and worry.

"I couldn't ignore your prayer." Hera told her whilst observing every inch of the young demigoddess.

"I am sorry, my lady." Persephone started. "But I can't recall praying."

"Families are my domain, Persephone." The Goddess replied patronising. "Even if it wasn't your intention for your prayer to reach me, I was still among those who received it."

The Goddess paused for a moment.

"I never cared much for demigods, especially since most of those are crimes against my domain." Hera admitted. "But, what happened to you, Persephone?"

"Do you know happens to heroes who refuse to die, Lady Hera?" Persephone asked her with a soft voice, whilst turning her head towards the flames.

Hera had an inkling to the answer but still tilted her head and waited for the explanation of the demigoddess.

"They live to see themselves become the villain."

"I find it hard to believe that you became a villain." Hera told her.

Persephone chuckled mirthless. "You would be one of the few."

"What happened, Persephone?" Hera asked again. "What made the prime heroine of the Olympus, the leader of Camp Half-Blood and Poseidon's favoured daughter into an outcast?"

She narrowed her eyes when she noticed the demigoddess clenching her fist around the hilt of her sword at the end of her sentence.

"Do you remember what happened after the titans were defeated?" Persephone asked her eventually.

"Anyone would be hard pressed to forget that day." Hera replied, there was a short pause during which the Goddess showed a little smile again. "Although Dionysus and a lot of the campers made a valiant effort with the amount they drank."

"It was a great day." Persephone admitted whilst the tone of her voice became gentler. "One of the few remaining. I was the heroine of the hour, Persephone Jackson Titan's Bane. So were the others, Thalia the Huntress, Nico the Herald of the Underworld, Clarisse Drakon-slayer, Silena her Patroclus, Beckendorf Vanquisher of the Andromeda, Annabeth the Architect of the Olympus and Luke the liberator of demigods."

Hera couldn't miss the hissed way she spat those last names.

"The war was over and we were all victims." Persephone continued before shaking her head. "I can't blame them for believing that."

She gave a sigh. "Especially when it is so true, but why would that mean pretending nothing happened?"

"He killed them, lady Hera." She whispered. "He killed them and they act as if nothing happened. Zoë walked willingly to her dead, Bianca sacrificed herself for us, so did Beckendorf.

Persephone grasped Hera's arm, her voice became more erratic with every new word.

"He forced Silena to betray us! For weeks I saw the desolation in her eyes before she ended her own life by leading the Ares-Cabin into battle. So many demigods dead, some by my hand and yet, they treat him as if he's noting but a hero."

Persephone was shaking, looking as if she was about to cry.

"It was not as if I wanted to see him dead or anything. I just wanted him to admit the consequences of his actions, see him forced to prove himself worthy to regain everything he once threw away."

Persephone stared at her clenched fist which started to pale.

"Apart from the cabins of Ares, Aphrodite and the Hunt, I stood mostly alone. Whenever a new camper arrived, they heard about the sacrifices, the cause and the result of the war. He was a rebel, he did the wrong thing for right reasons. And I? I was the warhound of the camp if I was lucky, otherwise I was the lapdog of Olympus."

Persephone couldn't help but laugh after those last words, but Hera noticed the lack of joy in her laugh.

"I hoped, I prayed for the Gods to do something, anything at all, but nothing happened. Only Hermes and Athena ever came to show their support for the rare quest which was undertaken by their children."

"Your friends?" Hera asked her, wondering why she scarcely mentioned any support.

"Grover and the other satyr's were busy with the wild." Persephone whispered, only pausing to sigh. "Apart from that, he didn't want to choose between me and Luke now he had his oldest friend back. The Stolls were happy their half-brother was back. Will and Katie refused to go against most of their siblings. Annabeth,"

Persephone's eyes lost what little remained of their shine when she whispered her formerly closest friend's name.

"Annabeth was firmly entrenched on his side. She tried to rekindle the friendship between Luke and me at the start."

Persephone snorted after those words. "Which basically meant that she tried to persuade me to drop my grudge. When I didn't she made clear who she would support."

Persephone sighed. "She had her dream, Luke and her position as architect of Olympus, it wasn't like she needed me anymore."

"And some wonder why I dislike demigods." Hera whispered. "My apologies for the pain I brought up with my questions. It was definitely painful enough to understand why you decided to run away."

"It was definitely painful," Persephone admitted, "but that wasn't what made me run away."

Persephone took another deep breath whilst lowering her head. When Hera pushed Persephone's head up with a motion of her hand under the girl's chin, she noticed the red eyes.

"Annabeth knew she had been my anchor in the Styx. When I refused to budge on the issue of Luke's swordsmanship classes, she told me that she had made her choice and that I had to stop acting like a scorned lover and find another girl for my affections."

"Now the camp knew." Persephone concluded with a small voice.

Hera stared a moment at the girl before wrapping her arms around her and pulling the demigoddess against her.

The goddess felt the surprised intake of breath of the smaller girl against her cheek before Persephone started leaning into the hug. Persephone felt hands of the Goddess rub her back soothingly. Hot tears fell upon the bare shoulder of the Goddess or soaked the silk against her collarbone. Anger, stubbornness, pride, defiance, all emotions which had kept her from breaking down but now having found an outlet, months of repressed pain kept flooding out.

The Bane of the Titans grabbed Hera and kept her arms wrapped around the Queen of the Olympus. The girl hungrily took in every bit of warmth and acceptance which the Goddess eagerly provided. If someone would have observed both they would have noticed the elated smile upon Hera's face when she felt the demigoddess lean into her embrace. Both were lost in the moment, sensing noting but the warmth and comfort of the others body, as well as the heaving breath and Hera's whispered comforting.

Hera would ask no more questions about what happened afterwards. That was easy enough to imagine for the Queen of Olympus. Having found the supposed reasons of her hatred for Luke, most of the campers would act accordingly and further shun her, only now with more ammo. About Poseidon's support, she had even less illusions. Poseidon had always been the cruellest, most uncaring of her brothers. He wasn't harsh or cold like Hades or paranoid jumping at shadows like her husband. Poseidon was more like a child, loud and aggressive, not caring who or what he hurt if it got him what he wanted or could stop others of getting what he wanted. Contrary to what people often believed Orion wasn't a dark mark upon Poseidon's legacy, just a better known example. Even Ares showed more care for his children and lovers.

Persephone had been disinherited, cast away like a mere mortal who had angered him and robbed of parts of herself which had been hers since her birth. She didn't doubt that the god himself hadn't lost a single moment of sleep because of his actions.

The mother inside the Goddess was torn between absolute fury against the father who had abandoned his daughter in her most vulnerable moment and her desire to comfort and protect the girl. The Queen inside her on the other hand recognised the opportunity. One of the most powerful demigoddess to ever walk the earth had been abandoned and lay in her embrace.

"What will you do now, Persephone?" Hera asked her. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know, lady Hera." Persephone admitted to her.

Hera couldn't help but smile when she noticed the teen had closed her eyes whilst burying her head into her shoulder.

"You won't be going back to the camp, though." Hera told her.

Persephone smiled in reply. The sweet sight was an almost painful remainder that the girl was not even seventeen.

"I can't imagine you simply going on like this though." Hera continued. "There is another place were demigods gather, unknown to Camp Half-blood of which they are unaware in return."

Hera felt Persephone stiffen, both in curiosity and suspicion.

"It is harsher, more ruthless than Camp Half-blood ever was or would be. They respect honour, strength and discipline above all and will show no mercy for those in whom they find these traits wanting." Hera told her.

"Do you really believe I belong there." Persephone asked her.

"Can anyone believe you're lacking in even one of these traits?" Hera asked her in return.

The Goddess chuckled softly. "It would surprise me if you wouldn't end up leading them."

"I am not interested in another taste of the weight of leadership." Persephone told her.

"This camp sounds interesting though." she admitted. "Could you tell me where it is?"

"I will lead you there myself." Hera promised her. "But not yet, entering unaware of the differences between camp Jupiter and Half-Blood would make you no less certain of dead than entering with lesser skills."

"Camp Jupiter?" Persephone asked her. "Like the planet?"

Hera couldn't keep herself from smiling. "Jupiter, like the planet." She repeated.

The Queen of Olympus slowly removed one arm from around the demigoddess, she made certain that the other arm remained upon Persephone's shoulder though.

"Come!" Hera told her. "You've earned the protection of the Queen of the Olympus. Now, you will prepare to show those who abandoned you the magnitude of their mistake."

For the second time that night, Hera witnessed a hint of the smirk which had made the Demigoddess so feared among the enemies of the Olympus. Persephone Jackson, the Slayer of Kronos, Titan's Bane, Bearer of the Sky and vanquisher of innumerable monsters was returning to the land of the living.

* * *

The bronze skinned figure jumped back, making the first swipe of the curved sword fall short. A second slash followed immediately when it's opponent closed the gap and brought her second sword down upon her foe. Raising it's shield, the blade was stopped from performing what would otherwise have been a decapitating slash. However the shield was unable to resist the finely honed edge from the blade when supported by its own weight and the strength of its wielder, making a large part from the top of the square shield fall down, leaving the shield bearer further exposed.

A new barrage of rapid strikes drove the shield bearer back until the falcata made a deep vertical cut into the wood of shield, only stopped by the bronze of the umbo. Seizing the opportunity, the shield bearer immediately threw every pound of it's weight forward, attempting to rob the swords wielder of her balance. The push was instantly followed by a rapid thrust of the short, leaf shaped sword in attempt to capture the swords wielder unaware. However the shieldbearer felt no resistance and stumbled forward instead. It registered a rapid motion to it's right, but before it could turn and raise it's scutum to defend itself, there was a moment of pressure against it's neck, accompanied by the shrieking sound of metal clashing against metal and the fight was over.

The remaining combatant made a scissoring motion with her swords freeing them of the remains of her training dummy and raised the weapons to the sky. A triumphant growl escaped her throat to celebrate her latest victory.

Behind the demigoddess, half hidden beneath the shadow of a bush, a massive she-wolf raised her head a bit. The canine gave a pleased growl to acknowledge the victory, before allowing her head to rest once more upon her paws.

For a moment there was an almost unnatural silence pressing down upon the open space in front of the ruined mansion, then the leader of her pack raised her head again.

A soft, though rough sounding chuckle escaped her throat when she crawled from underneath the shrubbery, obviously not caring or even being hindered by the branches or the thorns which broke off and were left behind in the thick red fur.

Now in the open, the she-wolf's seize was truly revealed. At least eight feet tall and exhaling an aura of power and intelligence, she could carry the title of mother of wolves without any true contender.

Pointing her silver eyes at the entrance of the mansion, the she-wolf showed a feral smirk.

"I've been waiting for your arrival, my lady." She whispered with a harsh and low, but obviously female voice.

A tall, pale skinned female figure with a regal air stood behind the remains of the gate of the ruin. The woman wore a blue dress and a goatskin cloak, there was a short sword, a gladius, at her side whilst she carried a lotusstaf in her right hand. Her face was beautiful, well shaped, with high cheekbones and seemed stern and stately, whilst simultaneously showing a mixture of pride, intelligence and ruthlessness.

"I know you have, Lupa." She replied upon a respectful tone, fit for a queen who congratulated a trusted servant for completing a difficult task.

Lupa gave a slight chuckle.

"I've been repeating this line for the last four months." She admitted. "But she was a pleasure to train, Lady Juno. A true gem to further brighten Rome's glory. I've imparted all the knowledge she needed and further refined her skills wherever I could."

The wolf-goddess smirked. "She's bound to leave deep imprints upon the legion and even deeper bite marks in the flesh of their foes."

"Indeed, she will." Juno admitted, adopting a softer tone which contained a mixture of care and pride.

Turning her eyes to the young demigoddess, the patron of women opened her arms towards the teen. Scarcely a moment later the teen had her arms wrapped around the Goddess in a tight embrace.

When she escaped the embrace, the Queen of Olympus couldn't help but smile. Persephone had definitely changed since Juno had placed the demigoddess under her protection. The girl had become more collected, more calculating. Where the daughter of Poseidon would have charged in without a second thought, the girl he had abandoned would weigh the odds first. Persephone would never stop being overly influenced by her emotions, but she wouldn't act on every impulse either.

Physically she was in prime condition. A rather smallish, slender girl whose muscles were just enough developed to form the perfect balance between strength and agility. She had lost most of her seemingly natural tan though and her cheekbones now seemed a bit more pronounced than before.

Unknown to Persephone, she owned Juno for this last development and if Persephone accepted her offer, she would also lose the last physical reminder of her former father.

Anaklusmos hadn't remained unaffected either, as if to help her wielder to unleash the anger she had locked up inside herself, the leaf shaped xiphos had turned into a falcata. The much sharper and heavier blade allowed it's wielder to cut through armour and weapons as if it was made of wet paper. The more menacing appearance of the blade was a helpful asset though. It's twin had been a present of the Queen of the Olympus, despite Persephone's affection for Tyson's shield, she had agreed that her way of fighting required a lighter, more versatile and aggressive companion, which would allow her to employ every bit of her aggression, agility and speed without being slowed down by the weight of the heavy shield.

"Your preparation has ended, Persephone." Juno told her. "You are ready for Camp Jupiter."

"I will make you proud, Lady Juno." Persephone replied, making a rather ceremonial sentence sound genuine due to the small smile and the affection in her voice.

Juna gave her one of her rather rare affectionate smiles. "I know you will, Persephone."

"Before I bring you there, I have an offer for you though." The Goddess began.

"You will recall me telling you that inside the walls of Camp Jupiter name and honour are of huge importance, even more than in Camp Half-Blood. By sending you there at your age and without a lineage or a letter of introduction, you will start your new life with some great disadvantages."

Persephone simply nodded, waiting for the Goddess to make her point, whilst enjoying the warmth of the renewed embrace.

"I am in no way trying to disrespect your mother, Sally Jackson, a woman who is an example for a great many things I stand for and neither am I trying to replace her."

Persephone nodded again, now enjoying the feeling of a caressing hand sliding through her hair.

"You're one rare demigoddess, Persephone." Juno whispered. "A warrior and a leader, a loyal friend, a selfless woman willing to sacrifice herself for what must be done despite her own desires and dreams. There are only a few women upon who I would bestow the title of Queen and I would count you first among those."

Juno smiled softly when she felt Persephone turn her head, in attempt to hide her face.

"I know you wouldn't disappoint me, no matter what the future brings. So if I offer you now the opportunity to become my daughter, would you accept me as your Godly parent?"

A soft yes, accompanied by nodding was the answer.

Without breaking their embrace, Juno placed a single kiss upon the forehead from her new daughter before gently pressing two fingers upon the same spot. Muttering in Latin the patron of women placed her chosen blessing upon the Demigoddess. Persephone felt her eyelids grow heavier and started slumping. However whilst sinking back in Hypnos embrace, even he couldn't wipe the smile of her lips, even if he had wanted so. The smile was now a mirrored image from the Goddess who now carefully carried her daughter away. She noticed Persephone's skin slowly losing the last remains of her surfer-tan, leaving the alabaster skin tone of ancient nobility behind. Her cheekbones slowly became a bit more pronounced than before, further adding to her aristocratic appearance. The most noticeable change would remain hidden for now, though. Persephone would have to open her eyes before she could admire their new chocolate colour. She would wait for now, but even when passing Lupa, the Goddess refused to raise her own eyes from her daughter.

* * *

A loud feral roar escaped the lips of Clarisse La Rue. The whip sliced through the air before making a loud snap, coaxing the exhausted horses to even greater speed. The sound of another snap drove the horses even further on until they finally couldn't go any further. Ares's daughter jumped out of the chariot, her eyes ablaze with anger, a heavy spear, Maimer, in her left hand and the whip in the other. For a moment she gazed upon the horses and raised the whip, then she gave another roar and threw the whip down, leaving it unbloodied like every evening.

The girl turned around and rammed her spear into the closest of the straw men which she placed into this abandoned corner of the campgrounds. Clarisse kept roaring and growling whilst slaughtering the straw army, leaving the only recognisable words to escape her mouth insults.

When killing them was not enough, Clarisse started to mutilate the straw dolls with her bare hands, leaving nothing even barely resembling a human in her wake.

"Fuck!" She yelled angry, whilst scratching a dolls stomach wide open. "Fuck!"

Another straw corpse was desecrated when she tore it's head off. "Fuck!"

When nothing resembling a human but herself remained on the field, she sank upon her knee's.

"Fuck!" She whispered once more.

"Shsst." Whispered the soothing voice of her boyfriend, Chris Rodriguez, whilst embracing her from behind. "It will be all right."

"It won't be all right, Chris." Whispered Clarisse back, before her voice gained a much harsher tone. "It shouldn't be. They should pay, they all should fucking pay!"

"I know." Chris whispered whilst nudging his chin against her shoulder. "I know. Even if she wouldn't, we would."

"They deserve it, they deserve everything she would bring down upon them, everything! She's the Hero of the Olympus, there was hardly a single soul around she hasn't saved and they practically chase her out of the camp for a traitor." Clarisse told him angrily.

"How is it possible, Chris? I leave this place for a month and everything goes to Hades." Clarisse whispered.

"You know why." Chris told her. "Because they know better than trying to take you both on."

Clarisse sniggered. "That's right, wimps couldn't deal with us both, so they wait till they can put a knife in her back when she's alone!. No wonder that spawn of Athena was behind it, a dagger and an invisibility cap, it couldn't be more suiting!"

Chris showed a small smile.

"They'll regret it soon enough, Clarisse." Chris reminded her. "It's only a matter of time before the monsters return in full strength and they'll notice the gap that Persephone left behind. Then it's only a matter of time before the funeral pyres are lit. Luke is a swordsman, good for a tournament but he's no a warrior or a warlord."

Clarisse smirked. "Yeah, I wonder how long he'll remain popular when he stops holding their hand and forces them through the same boot-camp as Persephone did."

Chris sniggered for a moment. "They might be appreciating the Ares-Cabin a lot more afterwards."

"Like that will ever happen." Clarisse told him. "You've seen it, what little respect we gained in the war was lost in peace."

"After all brain will always defeat brawn." Clarisse spat, imitating the Athena-cabin. "Those arrogant little shits know no nothing of war."

Clarisse adopted a fake sage voice. "Every plan of engagement will start to unravel upon contact with the enemy."

"Perhaps you should paint that upon their cabin." Chris suggested, showing a small smile.

Clarisse chuckled. "Always a son of Hermes, hm?"

"It cheers you up." Chris told her, still smiling.

"Don't mistake me for a child of Aphrodite." Clarisse said shaking her head, although Chris noticed the small blush upon her cheeks.

Pleased with his little success in cheering her up, Chris told her. "I'd hoped to return to the cabins before the campfire ended."

Clarisse little smile faded away. "Not in the mood." She said. "I'll be staying here for another while.

She paused for a moment. "I'll guess I'll be thinking."

Chris gave a small sigh, knowing her well enough to guess what she would be thinking about.

"It wasn't your fault, Clarisse." He assured her.

"I know that!" Clarisse said, almost screamed at him. "It's just that, what if I hadn't left her here to kill that Drakon and ... Well, it's so obvious in hindsight that she liked girls, I mean she dropped so many hints and I never realised. Gods, if I could take even half of the things I said in reply back."

"She knew you well enough to pay no attention to those words, Clarisse, besides it isn't like so many others noticed that she preferred girls."

"I know. It's just, I keep imagining the what ifs." Clarisse told him tiredly.

"Trust me on this, Clarisse." Chris whispered before sighing. "Don't wonder about those what ifs, I know that too well. it's not good for anyone."

Chris showed her a small, sad smile before continuing. "Like a certain girl told me, it isn't as if too much thinking ever did anyone good, anyway."

Clarisse chuckled shortly and punched his shoulder, before her smile disappeared and she turned around again.

"And?" Mark asked Chris when he came wandering back. The son of Ares had raised his head up for a moment and straightened his back before leaning back against the tree stump.

The son of Hermes shook his head in reply.

Mark spat upon a patch of nearby grass before giving a sigh himself.

"You ain't with her?" He asked Chris. " Isn't that a boyfriend's job?"

Chris shook his head again. "It's better for her to get some that rage out her system first.

Chris smiled for a moment. "Shouldn't you know that better than I do? She's your sibling!"

"You know a brother who understands his sister?" Mark asked in return with fake surprise, causing Chris to chuckle again.

Both stared at moment at the largest camp-fire where the majority of the campers had gathered.

"Idiots." Mark whispered venomously.

"I won't try to argue with you on that." Chris replied, his voice grew angrier for a moment when he continued. "Even if some of them are my siblings."

Mark shrugged. "Every family has idiots, some more than others."

"Clarisse is still beating herself up?" a harsh voice asked from behind them.

"She still is, Sherman." Mark told him.

Sherman sighed for a moment before planting the butt of his spear in the earth and rested his shield against the ashen shaft.

Chris raised his head for a moment to acknowledge the presence of his girlfriend's other half-sibling. Like most descendants of Ares, Mark and Sherman were broad and bulky. Two strong teens who reminded Chris strongly of a grizzly bear and both were just as aggressive and dangerous. Like their father they sported a military attitude and a similar haircut. Sherman had further added to the resemblance by acquiring a diagonal scar on his left cheek during the skirmishes in the war against the Titans.

Said teen gave a loud relieved sigh when he sat down and placed his helmet next to him, giving the scarred skin some access to fresh air.

"How was the tour?" Chris asked him.

"Silent, no sign of monsters or new demigods approaching." Sherman told him. The teen scratched his scar, absent minded. "No need to worry, we ain't forgetting to watch the border just because the head of the Ares-Cabin is a bit distracted."

"Good for you, Clarisse would tear you a new one if she would ever find out otherwise."

Sherman snorted in reply, but both Mark and Chris sniggered.

"Seems the kids are breaking up." Mark noted after a while.

"Well it is time for the little children to go to bed." Sherman replied without bothering to raise his head.

Both sons of Ares showed a broad smirk when they noticed some of the campers staring at them and the other small fires around which children of Ares and Aphrodite had settled themselves.

Chris could hear Sherman whisper "ungrateful little wimps" when the campers turned their head away from their fire. It wasn't for long before all three heard the sound of quickly approaching wings.

The teens waited for a moment before Chris and Mark exchanged a glance and pointed their gaze at Sherman.

"What? Oh no, I'm tired and just here, there is no way I am getting up." Sherman muttered protesting.

"Sorry, bro but the majority has spoken, that's democracy for you." Mark told his half-brother with a broad smirk upon his face.

"Besides," Chris said whilst lazily pointing his nose at the teen's breastplate and greaves, "Unlike us, you're all dolled up.

Mark sniggered loudly whilst Sherman, grumbling loudly, reached for his spear and shield.

For a moment nothing seemed to happen, then the head of a woman seemed to be shot at them. Sherman pointed his spear her, whilst raising his shield protectively in front of him, showing of the V shaped drakon upon the shield. The teen showed an evil grin for a few seconds, then he roared a battle cry.

Another flutter of wings and the harpy stopped almost instantly, although it still kept staring at him angrily.

"You gonne be brave, little turkey?" Sherman asked her with a dark tone in his voice.

"Campers out of bed! Dinner for," The Harpy yelled before a quick lunge cut her screeching off.

"Don't even fucking dream about it." Sherman whispered angrily at her.

For another moment both stared at each other, then Chris noticed another ripple in the darkness behind her head and then she was gone, once more hidden in the darkness due to her dark feathers.

"To think that those things once scared me." Chris muttered with a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

"They ain't scary any more." Sherman whispered. "At least not to me."

Both Chris and Mark rolled their eyes in reply upon his boasting.

"And I?" A female voice asked angrily. "Am I still scary to you?"

"You're ..." Sherman started before turning around and gulping.

"I am very scary to you, is it not?" Clarisse La Rue told him, grinding the butt of Maimer in the dirt whilst the tip was crackling with electricity.

Mark chuckled loudly, to loud to be healthy for him, but he covered it up by quickly nodding.

"Scary?" Chris asked her innocently, although even his father's blood couldn't keep a rather mischievous expression from his sharp features. "I don't know."

"Ooh, is it?" Clarisse asked him, now pointing a slightly softer glare at her boyfriend.

"I'd use other words." Chris continued on the same innocent tone. "Badass seems much more suiting."

"Nice save, hero." Muttered Clarisse whilst dragging her boyfriend away from her brothers. "Anything else happened?"

"You'll like the news." Chris told her.

"Really?"

"Yes, Thalia is back."

* * *

 **If you read it this far, would you mind leaving a review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, a thank you to everyone who decided to review, favorite or follow this fic.**

 **Seriously, you've all really made my day.**

 **About the story, I've added another 17 pages in word. so, yeah.**

 **A large portion (about half or so ) is combat, which (admittedly) is a quite bit more than I had originally had anticipated. (I blame myself for putting up Amon Amarth whilst writing.)** **For those who dislike that much combat, I am sorry and I can assure you that whilst battle will be a part of the story, it shouldn't be as prominent in every chapter as here.**

 **To those who want to visualise the Roman legionaries, I based their equipment mostly upon the post-Marian legionaries (so mainly mail- and scale -armour, montefortino-helmet, bodyshield, two javelins and a gladius hispaniensis), Castus [a character of minor importance at best] is based upon the earlier velites-type (without the wolfs-head).**

 **No camp half-blood though, sorry, but we gain our first appearance of some other character. By the way, every legion had a 120 horsemen and every legionary was taught to ride in full armour, something which made the day of a certain girl.**

 **If you're still with me, hope you will enjoy the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I am still here, so yeah, still not the owner of rights of the novels.**

* * *

"Hazel?" She heard the boy next to her asking.

Said girl, a dark skinned teen with shoulder-length curly, cinnamon coloured hair lazily raised her head from the heavy shield it had been resting on.

"Yes?" Hazel asked in reply. "What is it, Frank?"

Next to her, the larger boy was staring intently at a point in the distance, just before the forest. Despite his rather babyish features, the Asian-Canadian was large and stocky, although not without muscles. She noticed his frown and scarcely moment later the boy reached for his helmet, a bronze skullcap with an elaborate reinforced eyebrow, neck plate and large cheek plates. Hazel reached for her weapon whilst quickly brushing her spare hand across the scales from her armour.

The boy kicked the heavy shield he had leaning against his leg away and reached for the bow he carried across his back.

"What's wrong, Frank?" Hazel asked him now drawing her own weapon, an imperial golden spatha, from its scabbard. The heavy cavalry sword felt rather clumsy in her hand when she wasn't riding and she didn't felt overly confident in her skill to hold a threat off if Frank somehow missed.

"Two people approaching." He said whilst licking his lips. "Coming straight at us."

"Demigods?" Hazel suggested hopefully.

"Or monsters." Frank reminded her, feeling a lot less hopeful.

Keeping the large bodyshield of a legionary in front of her, she peered over the edge of the shied whilst resting her sword upon the rim. Hazel couldn't help but to feel useless when she spotted Frank placing a first arrow upon the string of his bow and looking for the approaching "guests".

"Where did you see them?" She asked him, whilst searching for the two herself.

"Just before the forest, but they seem gone now."

"No we're not." Replied a young, obviously female voice to their right. "But as good as noticing us was, you should've kept your eyes upon us."

Hazel immediately turned to her right pointing her sword at the intruder.

Said intruder was only a two or three years older than themselves, sixteen or seventeen at most. She was a lean girl with the build of a dancer or a swordswoman, light and slender, a certain amount of elegance and some strength. Just like them, the girl was equipped with a set of weaponry that should have been antiques. However unlike Frank and her who wore the equipment of a Roman legionary, the girl was protected by a leather cuirass, a pair of greaves and a set of vambraces. Underneath those she wore simple boots and jeans as well as short-sleeved grey shirt.

Hazel usually wasn't the type of girl to get a bad impression because of a girl's good looks, however this girl seemed to remind her of some of the richer, spoiled girls from her time who, just like the others had gone out of their way to make her live miserable.

Whilst the girl was pale, she was blessed with a rare alabaster tone of skin unlike her brother's ghostly white. Although her eyes were of rare soft chocolate brown colour which seemed gentle, Hazel caught a vague impression of strength and anger behind them. Something told her instinctively that this girl, if she wanted would be one of the most dangerous threats she would ever face. Despite the memories in a corner of her mind, she really hoped that she wouldn't end up against her.

"Who are you?" asked Hazel whilst half hiding herself behind her shield. "Identify yourself!"

The girl gave her a small smile, before taking a quick step to her right.

Hazel blinked for a moment before she heard Frank's whisper from behind her.

The girl's smile returned for a moment before she took another step to her right.

Hazel realised the stranger was trying to keep herself between them to stop Frank from taking proper aim.

"Are you an enemy of Rome?" Frank asked her, although Hazel couldn't help but wish that his voice would have been louder and more harshly.

"If I was, I would've killed you already." The teen replied. "Never heard of the basics of hospitality? Like not pointing sharp things at people before they're even introduced."

"You have a letter of introduction?" Hazel asked her curiously, a frown visible upon her brow.

The girl shook her head, although her smile returned once more. "That's not how I would've called her." She said.

Hazel blinked for a moment before recalling Frank's earlier words. Frank had done the same and had spun around, now aiming his weapon at the stern looking woman who stood behind them.

"Lower your weapon, boy." She ordered him whilst making a motion with her hand.

For a single second Frank stared at her, a moment later he had dropped his bow and kept his eyes down.

Even if Hazel wouldn't have recognised the Goddess who stood before them, she couldn't blame Frank for dropping his weapons before her. Her commanding presence would have made her just as easily obey as himself.

"Lady Juno." She said, more like whispered, whilst kneeling.

Frank who's eyes seemed to bulge out of his skull, joined her almost instantly whilst incessantly muttering apologies.

She noticed a small smile upon the lips of the Goddess which seemed vaguely familiar.

Juno slowly raised her hand, silencing Franks apologies.

"Enough Frank Zhang, I did not come here to hear your apologies. I won't hold your mistake against you." Juno told him, making the boy release a deep breath in relief.

She aimed her eyes upon the other legionary. "I came here to present Camp Jupiter with a new demigoddess. You will accompany us whilst your companion announces our presence to the senate and your praetors."

Hazel nodded and motioned them to follow her whilst Frank handed his quiver with arrows and bow over to her, threw the sling of his shield over his shoulder and started running. Hazel could see the rim of his shield hit his ankles several times before he was even halfway the tunnel.

Neither the Goddess, nor the demigoddess behind her spoke even a single word, making her feel rather uncomfortable. A feeling which wasn't helped by the hard features of the deity. When the demigoddess behind her noticed the quick, nervous glances she threw over her shoulder, she shot her small reassuring smile. The silence between the three of them felt less oppressive afterwards.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, they arrived in a bowl shaped valley of several miles wide. The basin floor was rumpled with smaller hills, golden plains and stretches of forests. A small clear river cut a winding course from a lake in the middle and around the perimeter, making it resemble a capital G.

In front of them, behind the river, which was named the Little Tiber stood a military encampment which was about half a mile square. The camp was protect by several watch towers and an earthen rampart which was topped off by wooden stakes. In front of the wall lay a ditch which was about three feet deep and further defended by numerous wooden spikes. In the centre of the valley, next to the lake stood a small city of white marble buildings. Whereas quite a few monuments, domed buildings and even an aqueduct were noticeable, most impressive were the massive arena and the racetracks next to it.

To the other side of the lake, across the river stood another hill which was filled with even more majestic buildings, each of them a temple devoted to the Roman Gods.

Hazel noticed the demigoddess staring at the mountain, then she closed her fist violently.

"Something troubling you?" she asked her.

The girl shook her head in reply. "Nothing but a memory." She said. "The last time I visited California."

"Not a good memory, I suppose."

"If it wouldn't have been for the camp, I would have been happy if I'd never saw a Californian mountain again." She said with a harsh sounding voice.

The girl shook her head again. "I am sorry, I lost someone I admired greatly that day. I'd prefer not to discuss it for now."

Hazel nodded in reply. She could understand her feelings for the place if she lost someone important there. She felt the same way over a certain part of the US due to her own loss and the guilt which she associated with the place.

Hazel noticed Juno halting in front of the river.

"After this there will be no way back, Persephone." She whispered towards the girl.

The girl, Persephone nodded in reply and took a deep breath before wading into the river towards the gate of the camp.

Hazel couldn't help but feel like she understood only a small portion of what she saw, as if she missed some pieces of a puzzle.

Inside the encampment, the place bustled with activity. Demigods were running everywhere, checking their weapons and armour, a few of the sentries kept shouting updates about the approach of the Goddess and the two demigoddess.

The three had scarcely waded through the river or numerous, perfectly armoured demigods poured out of the gates. A honour guard was formed in a matter of moments. Hazel noticed both walls of purple shirted demigods existed mostly out of members of the first cohort. Only the signifiers as well as well as the centurions were more or less equally represented. It was telling though that only the fifth had a single centurion, Gwen, present whilst the others had at least two or three from the six present. Finally she noticed the rather unhappy looking aquilifer who was staring at the empty head of the shaft in his hand where an eagle was supposed to sit.

In front of the three the wall of officers and standard bearers opened up, allowing two teens in traditional Roman clothing to come forward and position themselves at the head of the little group.

"Lady Juno." The first of the two teens said, acknowledging the presence of the Goddess and his patron first. A moment later the demigods sank upon one knee leaving only the Goddess and Persephone standing.

"Rise Romans." Juno told them, sporting a small smile.

Next to her, Hazel noticed Persephone narrowing her eyes upon seeing the blond teen. The girl whispered "Herac-" through her teeth before cutting her words off. Everything happened so fast that Hazel wasn't even certain if she hadn't simply been hearing things.

"What can we do for you, My lady." Jason asked her whilst his companion, Reyna stood a bit back.

"I am here to present Rome with a new legionary." She told him whilst laying a hand upon Persephone's shoulder. "This is Persephone Jackson."

Hazel noticed Reyna instantly turning her eyes upon the girl's face, her action went mostly unnoticed because the same motion was scarcely a moment later repeated by every other legionary.

"She is my daughter." Juno told them.

As if she hadn't dropped a metaphorical bomb upon them, the Goddess continued.

"Persephone is a veteran of the second war against the Titan, such as many of yourselves. Whereas the legions were vital in the war due to the destruction of Mount Othrys, Persephone as well as numerous other creatures, nymphs and even demigods were of equal importance due to their role in the defence of our own Symbols of power."

She shot Jason a little smile. "You weren't the only one who faced a titan on your own."

Another rapid motion of their heads followed when the demigods once more fixed their gaze from Juno to Persephone.

"However unlike a Roman or Persephone for that matter, most of her comrades preferred comfort and peace over skill and preparing for another opponent. They preferred to dream over a rosy future rather than remembering the past and preparing for a less pleasant outcome. When Persephone stood up for those values, she was cast off."

Juno's voice grew louder and rougher, almost like a growl and the Goddess herself seemed to grow. "A girl who led them through blood and pain, who duelled with titans and faced untold amounts of monsters was abandoned for a traitor and untested campers."

"There was rarely a demigod who showed similar courage, skills or faced the sacrifices she was forced to bring to grant us victory. When I found her I was happy to hear her accept my offer of adopting her as my own demigod-daughter."

All around her, Hazel heard the demigods muttering.

Juno pointed her gaze at the two in front of them. "My daughter comes with the highest recommendations." She said upon a tone that would allow for no objections. "She's both an experienced and capable leader, loyal until the end and a swordswoman like they only come once in a millennium."

Hazel could feel some sympathy for the girl who was now looking away, obviously taken aback by the amount of attention and praises she was given. She suspected Persephone was immensely grateful to Reyna when she spoke up, cutting off whatever praises Juno might have further bestowed upon her daughter.

"A centurion is a supposed to be an inspiration to her comrades, a warrior capable of holding every foe and loyal until the dead." Reyna said with a calm, almost emotionless voice. "It is a rank rarely offered to anyone without at least three years of service. Would it be correct that this is the rank you request for your daughter?"

"It is." Juno told her. "Would that be a problem?"

Reyna shook her head. "It is unusual but not unknown." She admitted. "I am certain a position can be found."

"However, I am curious about her skills. A demigoddess matching a titan is indeed rare. Would she be willing to demonstrate some of these skills to us, then?" Reyna asked the Goddess.

"Persephone?" Juno asked.

Persephone gave her mother a small smile which turned into a small grin when she pointed it at Reyna.

"It will be a pleasure." She whispered.

* * *

A loud roar echoed through the arena. The massive structure was packed with demigods of various age, race and gender. Despite the numbers of the demigods, there were numerous gaps in the stands, which the people utilised to sit or lay around in small groups of friends, comrades and families. All around the sand, people were chattering, gambling or riling themselves up in anticipation of the fight.

Ten legionaries had been selected and send into the arena. Each of them wore his or hers finest armour and was now waiting with a drawn weapon.

Above them, in the praetor's box both Jason and Reyna were staring at the crowd.

"It's been a while since there was a proper testing, isn't it?" Jason asked her.

"The arrival of demigods is too rare, nowadays." Reyna replied. "We can't afford to wait for the necessary numbers to arrive to test them like this before incorporating them into the legion."

"Something like this should be treat then." Jason said with a grin whilst staring at the sand of the area.

"For who?" Reyna asked him. "The legion?"

The female praetor gave her college a smile. "Or you?"

"Me?" Jason asked her in return. "I am not even standing in the arena."

"Yet I see you're wearing your manica and greaves." Reyna reminded him with a rather smug expression upon her face.

Jason eyed the metal plates which covered his right arm for a moment, then he closed his eyes and smiled.

"Juno claimed she faced a titan." Jason said whilst still keeping his closed eyes aimed at the sand, making Reyna uncertain if he was talking to her or himself. "I believed I was the only one. If that's the case, I'd like to see how good she is."

"You want to test her yourself." Reyna said, not pretending to make it seem like a question.

"Can you blame me?" Jason asked her in return.

Reyna shook her head before returning to her seat. "I guess I can't." She admitted. "Especially if I am curious about her myself."

"Detecting a potential rival?" Jason asked her teasingly. "Someone contesting your position as the toughest girl in the camp?"

"I never cared about that joke of a title." Reyna reminded him harshly. "If a girl comes out of nowhere as the nearly adult daughter of the queen of the Gods, am I not allowed to be curious?"

Jason shrugged. "The queen of the Gods herself came down to our camp to vouch for her. I doubt she'll be a threat to the camp."

Jason gave a quick chuckle. "We'll be forced to save her from Octavian, though. That boy must be drooling at the thought of her supporting him."

"Great, another reason to worry." Reyna noticed sarcastically.

Jason paused for a moment before pointing his gaze at his colleague.

"What's troubling you, Reyna?" He asked her, now actually sounding worried. "Do you know something I don't? Do you know of her?"

Reyna paused for a moment then she shook her head.

"It is nothing." She whispered. "I am probably overthinking things, if not simply imagining them."

"Reyna," Jason began. "You're not reassuring me. No, you definitely aren't."

"Like I said, it is nothing."

"Considering how much you are thinking about it, you're not even fooling yourself, let alone me." Jason continued. "Do you know of her?"

Reyna seemed to bite her lip for a moment.

"I've met a girl named Persephone Jackson years ago." Reyna paused a moment before continuing. "That was before I joined the legion."

"So you know her?" Jason asked her.

"It was only in passing, I wouldn't have remembered her if it wasn't for what happened later." Reyna corrected him. "I am certain she won't remember me."

For a single moment Jason waited for her to continue, that she would grant him a rare glimpse of her past, then that hope died away again.

"But you've seen her before then?" He asked her again.

"I've seen a girl named Persephone Jackson." Reyna admitted. "However she looked different, younger of course, but with a tanned skin and sea-green eyes. Whilst she resembles her in a way, I doubt it's her."

"I see." Jason whispered. "Perhaps you can ask her about it?"

Reyna shook her head. "For what reason? I am almost certain it isn't her. Her name is just a cruel joke of the fates."

* * *

Underneath the arena, Persephone was waiting for the signal which would tell her the platform was about to be raised and allow her into the arena.

"That's all I can tell you." Hazel said, finishing her little introduction about her opponents.

The girl who stood opposite of her, one shoulder resting against the wall smiled reassuringly at her.

"That's all right, Hazel." Persephone replied. "You've told me enough about them. I know I can handle them."

"Well, just be careful."

"I'm not making any promises in that regard." Persephone told her, showing a little grin which seemed to promise little good to her opponents.

"Aren't you nervous?" Hazel asked her, surprised about the relaxed posture the girl had adopted.

Persephone grinned and rubbed one finger over the manicae which protected both of her arms. The smooth leather showed a few signs of wear but she had obviously judged them well enough for job.

"There is no need." Persephone replied with the same little grin. "It isn't the first time I am fighting demigods and these aren't even trying to kill me."

Hazel shook her head in exasperation. "What about the audience? There must be at least a thousand demigods out there, watching you."

Persephone gave her a little pout. "That's mean," she said, "now I am getting nervous."

Hazel giggled a bit, which prompted a chuckle from the older girl.

There was the sound of several trumpets and Persephone raised her head toward the entrance in the arena.

"You should go now, fast if you want to see more than one or two of the battles."

Hazel shook her head once more. "Take care, if your head is that big, it becomes a prime target."

Persephone gave a small laugh in reply and made a dismissive motion with her hand, before turning towards the gate which was opening.

* * *

Another roar seemed to shake the arena when Persephone came out.

The demigoddess looked around her and smiled when she saw the people looking down upon her, a moment later she raised her arms up. During a few paces she walked unarmed and with her arms outstretched. A to them invisible motion of her thump and the audience heard a metallic click. Now her weapon, a bronze falcate, lay in her hand.

She heard Jason announce her presence, tell about the test and ask the Gods to judge the contestants, but paid little attention to it all whilst walking towards the ten demigods.

She lowered her weapon and fixed her gaze upon the ten, slowing down once she neared the centre of the arena. The demigods with exceptional sharp eyes or a spyglass as well as her opposition noticed the small grin upon her face when she approached her opponents.

Behind her, she hear Jason shout his last words. " Let Persephone Jackson begin her testing, Bryce Lawrence of the fifth cohort, come forward!"

The demigod, a tall legionnaire with a mop of brown hair and cruel, green eyes whose broken nose was his most distinguishing feature, came forward. The teen was a few years older than Persephone and looked both smug and brutal.

"This won't take long." He yelled before charging towards her.

Persephone answered his grin with a smaller, but smug grin of her own and a bit of sadistic gleam into her eyes.

The Roman charged her head-on, throwing all his weight forward when he tried to push his shield against her. Persephone whirled to her right, making him stumble forward and lunged at him. Still stumbling Bryce tried to regain his balance whilst turning towards her and blocked her lunge with his shield. Undaunted, Persepehone made another lunge which was blocked by a wave of the scutum. Bryce tried to stab her but another step to her right made him hit nothing but air. Persephone slapped his sword away and gave a quick kick against the bottom of his shield. A moment later she jumped to her right and slashed down, another attack which Bryce could only barely deflect. Before he could recover, another slash came at his face, forcing him to step back.

Now forced on the defensive, the legionary had no other choice then desperately trying to hold her back without a chance of regaining the initiative. Twice their swords connected but most of the time his fight was little more than a quick glance over the rim of his shield and followed by the quickly raising of his shield towards her sword. Persephone noticed the slower reactions of her opponent, she saw the small gaps which began to appear in his defence. She knew his arm had to feel like it was burning from the exertion of waving the heavy shield around as if it was a mere stick. It was almost time to end it.

She made another lunge towards the side of him, a slash towards his head and grinned when he raised his shield to protect his helmeted head. Now the girl pushed her leg forward and hooked his ankle, a quick pull and the boy tumbled backwards, losing his sword when he struck the ground. For a moment he was to confused to act, the next moment he felt a weight pushing his shield arm down and a sword was pointed against his throat.

Above him, Persephone gave him a little smile. "It didn't." She whispered.

Around them, the Romans were silent, each of them staring down at the fighters on the sand, then a approving roar resounded throughout the arena.

"Bryce Lawrence of the fifth cohort has been defeated, which legionary volunteers to go second?" asked Jason with a loud voice once the noise had been silenced.

The second legionary who came forward was a member of the sixth cohort. A dark-skinned legionary, with a bit of stubble who seemed one year younger than her. Unlike Bryce who had worn the traditional heavy kit of a legionary, this boy lacked mail or a heavy shield. Instead he seemed content to wear a thicker version of the camp-tunic and a rather large buckler. Apart from the cavalry sword at his side, he was armed with a spear with an elongated and broad, leaf shaped blade. Whilst Bryce had looked much more impressive then the athletic, though a bit smallish boy in front of her, she knew he was more likely to be the greater challenge. Unlike Bryce whose heavy equipment had made him sluggish, her new opponent was bound to be nimble and quick on his feet. Even better, the boy was a skirmisher which meant he would have some experience with proper swordsmanship.

"Castus Blessing of the seventh cohort!" She heard Jason announce.

The boy smiled at her, a gesture that seemed rather sincere unlike the mixture of a challenge and insult Bryce had thrown at her.

Persephone raised her sword in quick greeting and then aimed the tip at her opponent. Castus raised his shield a bit and placed the shaft of his spear against the rim, its blade pointed at her eyes.

The two were slowly closing the gap between them, clearly searching for an edge over their opponent. No one missed the difference with the opening of the previous battle.

In the end, it was Persephone who struck first, a quick slash which had been aimed to slap the tip of her opponent's weapon away. Castus reacted by taking a step back and returning a quick swipe which had been aimed at her throat. Persephone dove past the attack and blocked his weapon with her sword, then she tried to swipe his foot away. Castus now jumped back and blocked a lunge from her sword with his shield. A moment later Persephone whirled past his own thrust and brought her sword down with a vertical slash.

The boy could only escape her assault by throwing himself aside and blocking another slash with his shield when he stood up. A moment later he tried to swipe her feet away with a motion of his spear. Persephone instantly jumped back and the boy, now having gained the initiative, followed up with a barrage of quick swipes and lunges of his weapon which were parried or dodged by his female opponent. For a few moments Persephone was unable to return an answer, then Castus lunged a bit too deep and Persephone slapped the blade of his spear aside and threw herself forward, against his shield.

Now unbalanced the boy had once again to roll away from a lunge from his opponent. When he tried to stand up he found the boot of his opponent upon his spear and only by receiving her knee against his shoulder, he spared his face.

The boy released his spear and rolled away again, drawing his sword the moment he rose up.

Persephone remained a few feet away from him, one boot still upon his spear. She gave him a quick nod and he understood the message, grasping the moment to check his shoulder. When it seemed fine, he returned her nod and both locked blades once more.

Castus still had a slightly longer reach and his shield was definitely an advantage, but Persephone had ample experience with such foes and easily matched him.

Truth to be told, Castus was impressed, whilst he wasn't the best of the swordsmen, he still considered himself a full head above most other legionaries in terms of sword skill. Whilst he knew he was outmatched, this didn't meant he gave up though. He loved the challenge and he was well aware that even a more skilled warrior could fall if this warrior made a mistake.

Persephone either whirled away from his blade or rolled away, the girl was constantly moving around forcing him to follow her, allowing her to dictate the fight.

The boy took another deep breath and slashed towards his opponents shoulder, a moment later he followed the attack with a wave of his shield aimed at her head. Persephone stepped to her right whilst parrying his sword and dove underneath the shield. She saw his knee enter her vision and rolled away, aiming a quick slash towards his hip whilst standing up. Castus parried once more but he was too slow to stop her from following her attack with another slash. Castus defended as good as he could but every attack was immediately followed by another lunge or slash, he was quickly driven back by the relentless assault.

He parried another attack and a moment later he felt a hard push against his shield, he resisted as good as he could, but it took scarcely a second before he was forced to take another step back to evade Persephone's attempt to hook his leg and pull him down.

If she was disappointed in the failed attempt, she didn't show it and another furious assault drove him further back. Then disaster struck, for a moment Persephone seemed to stumble and Castus lunged at her. Their blades connected and slapped each other away, a moment later it felt as if his stomach exploded before he felt his back hit the ground. He instinctively reached for his stomach before he dropped his sword. In front of him, Persephone dropped on one knee and stabbed her sword in the sand before staring at him and extending her hand.

Castus stared at her hand for a moment, then his fingers closed around her wrist and he smirked at her.

"You fooled me good, I really thought I had you when you seemed to slip." He whispered.

"You would have if I would have slipped." Persephone admitted.

A soft chuckle escaped Castus' lips. "Maybe." he replied.

The boy gave a grunt when she pulled him from the ground.

"But please, next time, don't hit so hard."

"You're complaining?" Persephone asked in fake outrage. "I can't feel my knee. Are you hiding a cuirass under that shirt?"

Castus replied with a loud laugh.

"Flattery will get you everywhere." He said before grunting once more and reaching for his stomach. "It will even get me to forget this."

Persephone gave another laugh before reaching for Riptide.

"It will take until sunset before we end this test as it goes now, tell them to send two."

* * *

"She's good, isn't she?" Reyna asked Jason, well aware of what his answer would be.

Her fellow praetor, didn't dare to raise his eyes from the spectacle in front of him. Instead the boy gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

Truth to be told, Persephone went way beyond good. She had been talented and enjoyed plenty of training, but more importantly she was a veteran who had fought in the centre of battles. Juno had told them Persephone was all of that, but words could never convey a message like witnessing it with your own eyes. Even if the Goddess hadn't warned them, Reyna knew she, Jason and the more experienced campers would have realised this upon witnessing the spectacle. The girl thought on her feet, that much was clear, but as phenomenal as her reflexes were, Reyna could see the girl was the thinking during her battles, planning, distracting and creating opportunities which she exploited ruthlessly.

She saw the girl block the sword of her opponent and step past the legionary. Reyna knew it was over for Leila. A shame, the member of the fourth cohort deserved better than being beaten like that. Reyna knew she was better than Lawrence in every regard which was worth mentioning, whether it was swordsmanship, intelligence, bravery or acting like an actual human being in general.

However after being seen taken down as first when double-teaming Persephone, it was unlikely that the audience or her comrades would appreciate her greater skill despite the obvious edge her opponent had showed over Lawrence.

For a moment distracted by her thoughts she was taken by surprise when Persephone took her second opponent down.

"How did she do that?" Reyna asked Jason. "Considering her stance, there was no way that idiot would have failed to deflect her."

"She outplayed him." Jason said, now the confrontation had ended, once again willing to look behind him. "She grabbed the hilt of her sword with both hands and pointed that at him. Then she made it seem like she would take a swipe at his face. It was a stab to his side, with her **left**."

Jason placed some emphasis at the last word and Reyna smirked when she realised what he meant. As if to emphasis her thoughts and Jason's words, beneath them Persephone threw her sword up in the air and caught it again with her right hand.

"Ambidextrous?" Reyna asked her colleague.

Jason nodded. "Definitely," He added, "she seems to show off some of her tricks."

Unfortunately, although exhilarating the next two battles scarcely revealed half as much the previous ones and although Persephone clearly proved herself an intelligent and agile combatant with plenty of stamina, the heaving of her chest proved that she wasn't inexhaustible.

"Last!" Reyna heard Persephone yell.

Despite the spectacle Reyna had difficulty to keep her thoughts upon the game.

As much as she tried to tell herself there was no way, the daughter of Juno was the same demigoddess who had accompanied that Annabeth-girl who had destroyed Circe's Isle's, she couldn't keep her thoughts from returning to the subject.

She couldn't even close her eyes and remember what she had seen scarcely seconds ago, without seeing a younger girl with sea green eyes and a tan, who was wielding a xiphos instead of a falcate.

Now Persephone began to show some signs of tiring, the memories of the battle which led to her and her sister's capture seemed to rise to the surface of her thoughts.

She remember the screaming started long before she witnessed the fighting. She remembered the tanned girl slam her knee into the side of one of the elder servant girls when they tried to stop her. She blocked the bat of another before punching the girl in the face. Near the pillars above them, there was another servant armed with a bow, who aimed an arrow at her. Before she could release the arrow though, her eyes seemed to roll away and the girl slumped down. A blond girl, Annabeth appeared seemingly out of nowhere from behind the fallen girl. A moment later, Annabeth threw herself down upon another servant who had tried to sneak up on Persephone and slammed the pummel of her dagger against the side of the fallen girl's head to knock the girl out. A load roar came from one of the adjacent rooms and a moment later a tall man with long, dirty and unkempt hair charged out.

Persephone recognised her priorities immediately and turned towards the pirate whilst Annabeth parried the blade of the remaining servant, Reyna herself. She noticed Persephone whirl past the slash of the cutlass and reply with a quick lunge towards the man's eyes. The pirate stepped back and Persephone threw herself forward, blocking the man's weapon with her own xiphos. The girl instantly grabbed opportunity to hook his ankle, making the pirate tumbled backwards. The man lost his sword the moment his head struck the tiles. For a moment the pirate was to confused to act, the next moment Persephone foot connected with his head and the pirate's head struck once more against the tiles. Persephone seemed to shoot her a bright smile, then the darkness fell for her as well.

As if she still felt the pain, Reyna shook her head to chase the feeling away.

She had always been able to remember most of her meeting with the terrible twosome, however, perhaps due to the hit upon her head, she had been unable to remember what happened with the pirate.

It felt rather frustrating, was it a memory she was only now recalling? Or was her mind trying to trick her into seeing the daughter of Juno as the one who destroyed her former home?

The aftermath had been a lot easier to remember, they awoke with a headache fitting the title as the mother of all hangovers, Circe had disappeared and they found themselves in the hands of a gang of angry pirate. In hindsight, her sister had been right when she said that it did sound as the result of a really wild night.

She did smile a bit though when she remembered the pirate. It seemed like the two had been aware who had deserved to be knocked out for the longest time.

She dismissed her thoughts when she saw Persephone point her sword at the remaining legionaries.

* * *

Persephone showed no more emotion than an automaton when she pointing her blade at her last opponents. She was tired but cautious. If the two had expected her to try an attack to end it quickly they were mistaken. Both legionaries approached her slowly, definitely remembering the way she dispatched the others. They kept close, their shields not even a foot apart and their swords hidden behind the reinforced wood. The muscles in their swordarms were tense like the string of a bow and seemed ready to bury their sword to the hilt in her stomach in the blink of an eye. Above the rim of the heavy tower shield were their eyes, their faces were half hidden underneath the bronze helmets and behind the wood of their shield.

Persephone could tell they had since long passed the point of excitement and she suspected that they were closing in on what could be termed a minor heart attack.

There was a slight tug at the corner of her mound when she hid her smile. Instead of smiling though, she fixed her gaze on the right legionary. In her eyes there was no shred of sympathy or mercy, only ice cold calculations and iron determination to win. The boy could tell she was measuring him, weighing his worth. He knew that he couldn't show fear or weakness, but he couldn't help feeling small and vulnerable beneath her gaze, as if she was searching his heart for fear and weakness.

He glared back, banishing this issues for a moment but his resolution was shaken when he found no sign of weakness in return.

For a moment a ripple went through the little wall of shield when he paused to wipe some sweat from his hand and his partner stopped a moment later.

The distraction took only a moment, but it was enough for Persephone to close in.

The first he felt was the force of her kick against his shield, making him stumble a few feet back, then he heard her block the sword of his partner. He reacted instinctively, making a quick lunge towards the sound before he could even raise his head. It pierced nothing but air, but a moment later her sword struck the right side of his shield. Ignoring his partner's vocabulary, he took a step to his right scarcely a second later another slash of her weapon struck his shield.

He heard his partner scream another insult and another clatter of metal could be heard.

Persephone was between them, fighting them both at the same time!

He knew it was a mistake to let her split them up. Even after fighting eight legionaries, she was still too fast.

A quick stab which almost pierced the top of his shield interrupted his train of thoughts, he raised his shield a bit but a second stab went past the side of his shield and only by jumping back he escaped her. A kick against the lower part of his shield made him keep his distance and immediately there was the dull sound of metal on wood, he raised his head from behind his shield and noticed the girl fighting his comrade.

Her sword struck the boy's sword pushing it aside, the boy stepped back to evade a swipe from her leg. This removed the pressure on his sword and she reacted by bringing her elbow down on the rim of his shield, pushing it down and robbing him from his balance.

Distracted the boy was defenceless against the smack of the horse shaped handle of her sword when it struck his forehead and he took another step back, this time she finished the fight with a quick slash which tore through his mail as if it was wet paper. The boy was defeated, but the deepest wound was to his pride, not his flesh.

Turning her head again towards the remaining legionary, Persephone shot the boy a smirk. Then she charged him. The boy crouched behind his shield to stop her, his sword ready to stab. The motion hid Persephone from him for a moment behind his own shield. The girl jumped forward, just past him but still turning around in midair. Before he could turn around, before he could even realise what the gust of air meant. Her sword struck his back.

Persephone stabbed her sword in the sand and turned towards the praetors.

"Are you not entertained?" She yelled, her arms outstretched.

Turning around towards her audience she repeated the question.

" **Are you not entertained? ... Are you not entertained?"**

The audience stared down into the arena in complete silence, every gaze fixed upon the lone figure in the centre whilst the legionaries retreated unnoticed.

Then a first spectator began laughing, a lone chuckle before a second joined in, followed by a third and a fourth. When a fifth had joined in, the laughing had turned into a loud bellowing laughter.

"Persephone!" shouted a legionary whilst raising a fist, immediately followed by his neighbours. "Persephone!"

Thousand of legionaries and their families were loudly showing their support to the new centurion.

"She definitely has their support!" Reyna noticed, repressing a small grin.

Jason on the other hand was laughing loudly.

"That she has." He said between two bouts of laughter in.

Another chuckle came from the teen. "Are you not entertained? Classic."

"However." He said now sounding a lot more seriously. "Let's give her a real challenge."

"Comrades!" Jason began, speaking with a loud, calm voice. "Is there anyone who after seeing this example of skill would begrudge her the rank of centurion? Or even doubt her worthiness to join the legions?"

The roar of the crowd made instantly clear how they felt about the idée.

The praetor stood up and walked towards the balustrade, slowly the teen raised both hands.

The discipline of the legions turned the roar almost instantly in a mutter and then into silence, making the murmur of the wind the only remaining sound.

"Good," Jason said whilst placing his hands upon the stone of the balustrade, a sound which was scarcely heard above the sound of the increasingly stronger growing winds. A moment later the boy stood upon the stone slab.

Persephone stared upwards towards him, a curious frown upon her face.

"What the," she whispered surprised when she saw him take a step forwards.

She heard the wind becoming even louder and then his foot fell beyond the slab.

Rather than falling down, the boy continued walking as if descending from an invisible and very noisy set of stairs.

"Son of Jupiter indeed." Persephone muttered to herself whilst keeping her eyes fixed upon the teen.

"You fought well." Jason told her with a loud voice so that everyone in the arena could hear her. "The arena is an ancient initiation of the camp, even if it has been ages since we had the opportunity to enjoy it."

Jason offered her a gentle smile before continuing.

"As long as that was though, it has been even longer since someone bested the representatives of every cohort."

Persephone smirked. "The timing was wrong. Most challengers would expect to face a titan in combat after their initiation, not before."

Jason returned her smirk. "Most of those who lived to tell about that did." He admitted whilst offering her a hand.

Persephone didn't miss the metal plates which covered his right arm when she accepted his hand.

"You fought well." He repeated with a loud voice. "You gave everyone a spectacle that won't be forgotten in a long time."

"However," he continued with a softer voice, "are you willing to treat them to an unique spectacle?"

Persephone knew instantly what he meant, she could tell how much wanted the battle.

Jason might have been a good man and if Persephone could believe Hazel he was, however what Hazel hadn't told her, what the girl might not even have known, was how much of a warrior he was.

Kind, compassionate, serious, honourable each of them a trait which people would connect with Jason, but Persephone recognised something different. A hunger for challenge, a desire to prove himself, to make his mark. Jason was testing her, not for the camp but for himself and he, himself was the measure for the test. She could tell Jason was a born swordsman and a natural leader, not unlike herself if what people used to tell her was correct.

Jason as the comparison went, was an alpha wolf and he wanted to see her earn her rightful place in the pack and to him no amount of recommendations would ever measure up to his own test.

Persephone smirked, baring her teeth in a wolfish grin. She accepted his challenge. Respect should be earned by blood, sweat or tears and should never come easy, least of all for those who lead.

Reading her grin correctly, Jason nodded.

"An hour enough time to recup?" He whispered quickly, whilst one hand disappeared in the pocket from his pants.

Persephone nodded in reply.

"In an hour," Jason began with a loud voice, whilst pulling a golden coin out, "Persephone and I will face each other in the arena for one last battle!"

He took a deep breath and flipped the coin.

Persephone heard a metallic ring and then she noticed the golden spear, a hasta in his hand.

"Do you wanne see that?" He yelled at the audience whilst raising his weapon towards the sky.

Another roar, now capable of dwarfing the previous cheering made arena tremble.

Persephone gave her new opponent a last smirk and turned around, walking towards the platform in the ground from which she ascended whilst he did the same.

"Interesting," Persephone whispered whilst looking towards the leather band from the watch around her left wrist and then the small golden ring around her pinkie. "Seems like I am not the only one."

* * *

It was an hour later when Persephone stood once more opposed of a legionary upon the arena.

Both were eyeing their opponent carefully. Even if Jason had been capable of observing her before, he knew better than believing he knew every card she had. Persephone on the other had a few clues about Jason's fighting style and she could tell the teen was both a natural and experienced warrior. Both knew better than underestimating their opponent.

Jason had armed himself with a smaller version from the oval shield of a legionary and had his weapon, a double edged gladius with a tapered tip pointed at her eyes. His face was half hidden by the hinged cheek plates of his helmet whilst a crimson coloured traverse crest betrayed his previous rank. His chest was protected by mail hauberk, which as if to give further prove of his rank and skill was only half visible underneath the numerous medals which had been added to the leather harness above the mail. A pair of greaves covered his lower legs, whilst his exposed right arm was protected by a manica of metal plates.

Persephone had to admit that he was impressive, if not for his blond hair and young age, he would have been the prototype of the ideal centurion. And even so, she doubted that there would have been a single consul, legate, praetor or emperor who wouldn't have wanted him to advance at the head of their legionaries.

Persephone on the other hand was less protected, a simple cuirass from quilted leather, greaves and vambraces and lastly a manicae from little strips of studded leather. She had forgone a helmet so that her head and sight would remain unencumbered.

Slowly Persephone pointed the curved blade from her falcata at the eyes of her opponent.

"Are you ready?" She asked him.

Jason nodded.

Persephone gave him a small evil smile, then he heard her chuckle softly.

Jason attacked first, a rapid lunge from his blade followed by a push from the boss of his shield. Persephone reacted with a quick step backwards whilst deflecting the gladius with the back of her falcata, followed by an even quicker step to side to avoid a push from the heavy umbo. Jason instantly stepped back whilst bringing his shield closer to him to stop the slash of her weapon. Persephone followed the cut almost immediately with another step forward to her left.

Jason noticed immediately she tried to keep his shield between the two of them.

A quick scything slash made him instinctively raise his shield in front of him, before he could even curse himself he felt a weight strike against the shield, he took another step backwards and lowered his shield a bit, his sword ready to strike.

A moment later Persephone had jumped back and struck with another slash from her own weapon.

Jason deflected it once more with his shield and lunged at her in reply, making Persephone whirl away from the blade.

Both smirked.

Jason went forward using his sword for quick, precise lunges whilst trying to stop her attacks with small motions of his shield. Persephone on the other hand seemed to dance in front him, constantly twisting around, turning upon her heel and even occasionally rolling. Utilising her speed and the fact she was unencumbered by neither armour nor shield, the girl edged around him like the wind his father commanded.

Strike was followed by counter-strike, a slash by a lunge, a push from the shield was the reply upon a kick and when the shield stopped the falcata the gladius was unable to touch the woman who had already danced away.

When the fight went on, most observers couldn't help but compare the battle to a bear swatting at a butterfly. An understandable but wrong comparison even if they mentally added a stinger to the insect. The way Jason's shield suffered underneath the curved edge from her falcata proved how wrong they were. Jason might be stronger, larger and better protected, the agility and speed of his opponent were further supported by a blade which was heavier than his and allowed no room for mistakes.

The battle continued, first blood was drawn by Jason although it was little more than a scratch, second blood would have been drawn by Persephone when the broader tip of her sword struck his side but the mail and medals withheld the point from piercing.

Encouraged by his success and her failure, Jason's attack became more aggressive and whilst only slowly, he succeeded in driving her backwards.

At this point both were blind and deaf to the audience surrounding them, they could have faced each other in the arena knowing that only one would walk away whilst breathing, in the bloody puddles of a battlefield or in the dust and sand of a desert, it made no difference to them anymore. Locked in combat, they snarled and bared their teeth, growled like the she-wolf who had trained them.

Despite the time they had been fighting, the weight of their armour, shield and weapons, they fought on, not granting the other even the slightest pleasure of their own discomfort.

Both were fighting as if possessed by Mars.

A few feet before the wall of the arena, Persephone attempted grab the side of the praetor's shield with her free hand and wrench it aside.

Distracted by a previous slash from her sword which had nearly taken his fingers off, Jason reacted by slamming his shield in her side.

Persephone stumbled backwards and a moment later Jason charged her, trying to force her against the wall and keep her locked in her place with his shield.

The moment he felt his shield touch her, he knew he had failed. The weight struck too much to side of the shield and disappeared in a heartbeat showing that Persephone had once more whirled free. He stumbled when he felt Persephone attempt to trip him whilst passing. Jason turned around, a moment later Persephone's boot connected with the rim of his shield. Then her sword fell down upon his blade and she pushed down, as if trying to make him drop the weapon.

Jason pushed back. Both blades formed a cross with her blade as the vertical piece.

It was not the first time that they were close enough to smell the other's breath.

Then Jason gave a slow nod, which Persephone returned and both jumped back breaking the stalemate.

There was no pause though, Jason immediately lunged at her knowing the danger of trying to block the falcata. Persephone jumped towards him, planning to land behind him.

Jason saw her raise her left arm to the sky whilst moving her blade from the left side from her body to the right.

Just before the blades connected, Jason heard a metallic ring.

It was only due to his combat honed reflexes that he escaped with no more than the loss of his helm-crest.

When it came down, her left arm held another falcata, one which seemed like the twin of her main weapon.

Persephone gave him no chance to ponder about the sudden appearance of the weapon, she attacked.

A strike downwards, another sideways, a wave to slap his sword away accompanied by a lunge, a slash to block his shield whilst another cut attempted to sever his hamstrings, ... .

Persephone had always been fast and whilst dual wielding slowed her down slightly, she wielded them as two separate weapons rather than as one weapon supported by another.

Jason was fast but he was caught off guard by the speed with which she wielded them and her control over them. Now it was the praetor who was driven back and stood almost literally with his back against the wall.

For a moment Persephone stopped and both opponents grasped the opportunity to catch their breath. They stared at one other for a moment, both were stained by sand, dust and the filth of the floor. Their sweat poured down upon the sand after it had wrought several lanes through the dirt upon their skin. Persephone long and previous wavy hair now stuck together and the sand and dirt had stained it until it seemed dirt grey in several places. Jason's shorter blond hair was less effected but when the boy dropped his helmet behind him it revealed that his much shorter hair seemed taped against his skull.

Both took a last deep intake of breath and then glared at one other, Jason a second faster then Persephone.

The young woman charged at him, her swords crossed above her head, Jason raised his shield and stepped forward, his sword ready for another stab.

Jason prepared to block the expect slashes, instead she whirled once more past him and jumped forward. Her boot connected with wall and she stretched her leg, pushing herself off. Still in midair, the girl whirled once more around and the same boot connected with Jason's face who had only now been able to turn around.

Jason stumbled back instantly, shaking his head as in an attempt to stop the bells from ringing.

Persephone began another assault upon the distracted boy. The slashes from her swords rained down upon him until Jason could do little more than raise his shield in attempt to weather the assault.

Persephone grabbed her chance instantly, a quick swipe from her leg made Jason stumble back whilst lowering his shield. A moment later, a swipe from her left blade slapped his sword aside and another from the right pushed his shield away. Jason took another step back and her boot landed in his stomach. Jason opened his mouth when the air was forced from his lungs and then he felt his back hit the sand.

Before he could stand he felt Persephone left forearm against his chest, her blade still locked with his and a moment later her second blade rested against his stomach.

For a moment Jason kept staring defiantly at her, as if daring her to stab down. Then the anger in their gaze started to fade away and they began panting.

Jason was the forced to regain his voice.

"Can...you...get...up?" He asked slowly, not even trying to hide his exhaustion.

Persephone nodded slowly and stabbed her swords in the sand, then she used them to push herself up.

Releasing her right sword she offered Jason a hand. The boy accepted and taking a step backwards Persephone pulled him up.

"Let's...do...that...again...in...another...couple...of...months." Persephone whispered.

Jason chuckled whilst grasping her shoulder.

"...Agreed."

Persephone seemed to swipe her thumb over the eagle head of the handle from her left weapon. Jason heard a familiar metallic ring and the sword disappeared, he now noticed a glint upon her pinkie, the clean gold was awfully conspicuous against her otherwise dusty skin.

The girl raised her now empty hand and swept a few hairs from her bangs out of her gaze, not really caring about the extra layer of dirt she added to her hair and skin.

"I am supposed to get branded now, am I?" she asked before taking another deep breath.

Jason nodded.

"Mind if..." she took another breath, "I take a drink first."

Persephone paused a moment for another intake of air. "And a shower."

Jason gave a soft snort before nodding, than he grasped her wrist.

He raised her arm high in the air.

"Hail Persephone Jackson," he yelled although his voice was not as loud as before due to his exhaustion, "our new centurion."

"The drink and shower?" Persephone asked him whilst their audience roared.

"Follow me." Jason told her, before quickly adding. "Don't forget your sword."

Persephone stared at him for a moment before wiggling the fingers of her right hand and asking him with a mock surprise. "What sword?"

When Jason threw a quick glance behind him, there was no longer a curved sword standing in the sand.

* * *

 **If you've read it thus far, would you mind telling what you thought/ review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Right, it is been some time I uploaded the first chapters. I mean it is May, whilst I began in December. Sorry for that to everyone who favourite, followed or otherwise enjoyed it. In my defence, I'd like to add that I made several attempts to continue the story however life (more specifically: exams and my master-thesis) regularly found its way between me and a proper third chapter (I had originally hoped to add chapter three before the start of my exams and well I ended up rewriting it several times).**

 **I hope the length of this addition will make up for some of time it took being created. (You can't blame me for trying) Unfortunately no battles in this chapter and no real romance (yet, so put those pitchforks down, people). What can I say those first days are awkward and seem to go on for ever. Sincerely though, I had the general idea already figured out in December, I am still fiddling with some details, but most of those should be fine before I reach those points.**

 **About the Fifth, I said that I wouldn't be bashing anything or anyone and I stick to that, however even in canon it is made clear that there are some serious problems in and with the Fifth cohort and without Jason as their golden boy (he's part of the Fourth here), well you will see how that turned out. I will tell you though that the Fifth will become Persephone's cohort, just like the First is Octavian's and the Seventh is Whitfield's (OC: brave, capable, ... and generally not important for the story [It is titled Daughter of Juno and not OC of Mars for a reason]) . Sincerely, there is a horrible lack of Roman characters in the novels, don't blame me for creating OC.**

 **After the last chapter, one anonymous reviewer asked if had been inspired by the Princess bride movie for the ambidextrous sword-toss. I haven't seen the movie yet, so the answer is no to that.**

 **If anyone else has questions, just ask them. I usually try to answer them as fast as possible, if you're anonymous you will have to wait for the next chapter though.**

 **Disclaimer: Despite the time between this upload and the previous, I was mostly working and studying at the time and I will deny any accusation about getting punished for breaking an oath upon the Styx. So the rights of Percy Jackson are still in the hands of R. Riordan.**

* * *

Persephone bit down hard, grinding her teeth together. She could scarcely feel her nails puncture the skin of the palm of her hand due to the white-hot pain on the inside of her left-arm. The sharp scent of burning flesh filled her nostrils, whilst she knew that the burning flesh was her own. Every part of her screamed to pull her arm back, to tear it away from the hot iron. There wasn't even someone holding her arm, clearly they were expecting her to endure this torture without fighting back. Gods, she wanted to scream, to rage, to shout and curse, attack the blond bastard who held the iron. Instead she bit down even harder.

Time seemed to have slowed down due to the pain, as if the torrent of horror and agony by itself wasn't enough.

"Ignore the pain!" Some part at the back of her mind told her. "Ignore it and you don't feel it." However the pain didn't allow itself to be ignored and she felt herself becoming sick.

She wasn't even aware of it when the brand was removed from her skin, instead she was forced to endure the phantom pain for a few more seconds.

Persephone didn't care for appearances, she exhaled loudly the moment she realised the brand had been removed. Slumping down, she placed her hands upon her knees and lowered her head for a moment. She still felt her heart racing. Just like she felt the tears pricking in the corner of her eyes, were they would remain unshed, even if it was solely out of anger and pride! She wiped her hand across her face, hoping that nobody in the crowd would realise that she tried to swipe more away then just sweat. Another great intake of breath. "I am not going to vomit!" She told herself angrily whilst trying to keep the bile down. "I am not going to vomit due to this!"

She felt a hand upon her shoulder, however she was too distracted by her battle against herself to look up.

* * *

In front of the still distracted Persephone, Octavian shook his head, pointing it at Persephone before trying to hide the motion by scratching his cheek with his spare hand. A tanned youth with muscular arms wearing the armour of a centurion edged forward towards the girl.

Behind the Demigoddess, Reyna rubbed Persephone's shoulder reassuringly before bending down towards her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, a bit more sympathy in her voice then most people were used of her.

"Just peachy," Persephone replied angrily before showing her an obviously fake smile. "Just something I need to do to wake up on a Monday morning."

Reyna showed her a wry smirk, whilst some of the people around them laughed, more out of sympathy for her then because of the joke by itself.

Persephone stared down at her arm in which four letters had been branded. For a moment she was pleased, then she realised something was missing. There were only four letters, she missed the symbol of her Godly parent!

She saw the augur return to the small forge in front of Jupiter's temple and place the brand once more into the fire. He reached for the wooden handle of what she might have believed to be another poker if she hadn't noticed the missing brand upon the inside of her arm.

Persephone took a deep breath whilst keeping her eyes fixed upon the handle of the brand.

Finally remembering the hand which had remained upon her shoulder, she gave Reyna a small smile before glaring at the brand.

"The second brand is ready!" Octavian announced in front of them whilst pointing at the small forge in front of Jupiter's temple.

"You want to wait another moment to catch your breath?" Reyna asked the girl who might just have been a bit paler then before. In reply Persephone took another gulp of air and shook her head. Reyna repressed a small smile.

"Smart girl," she thought, mentally complimenting her. "Indeed, it is much better to simply take the plunge now, before fear would make the expected pain even worse than it already would be."

"Then you better brace yourself." Reyna told her.

She saw the pale orange of the iron shaped like a peacock-feather.

Now exactly knowing what would come, Persephone felt even less willing to extend her arm.

Her hand already clenched tightly, Persephone exposed her arm again. For another instant she felt something merely push against her arm, then her nerves registered the heat and her world exploded in a sea of heat and pain once more.

* * *

The scars of the burn were red and dark, contrasting against the lighter reddening of surrounding skin and the pale blisters with which they were doted.

Persephone suppressed a growl when the son of Apollo was finished with his job.

"This is as far as I am allowed heal it." He said, his voice displaying the obvious disapproval of his limitations.

He paused for a moment. "If I go further," He began explaining, "I risk erasing the mark."

Persephone nodded in reply.

The boy reached for the small backpack he placed next to him. A few seconds later he offered her a plastic icepack the seize of her lower-arm with two straps from it.

Persephone removed her watch for the moment and extended her left arm to him.

"Not to uncomfortable?" He asked her when he closed both straps.

Persephone moved her arm a few times, then she shook her head. "It's bearable." She said.

The son of Apollo nodded. The ice would just numb the pain, not take it away, but it couldn't be helped unless he was willing to risk her loosing the brands completely.

Persephone waited for a moment, then she stood up. The legionary grabbed her chair and folded it together before doing the same for his own. Then he walked away to wherever he was going to store them. Seeing her treatment completed, some of the legionaries walked towards her.

"What are they doing?" Persephone asked Hazel, the only one whom she actually knew a little.

They, referred to the praetors and some of the centurions which included the blond augur who had held the brand.

"They're still arguing about which cohort you'll be joining." Hazel told her.

The dark-skinned girl noticed the expression which Juno's adopted daughter sported.

"It's the fact you're starting off as a centurion that's troubling them." She explained, "there aren't exactly a lot of those positions free," Hazel scratched the back of her sheepishly, "considering they're kind of crucial."

Persephone shook her head in reply. "Nothing's ever easy or simple in my life." She muttered.

"You haven't been a Demigoddess for a long time, haven't you?" The Asian looking boy next to Hazel asked her.

"Long enough to curse the fates every other breath or so." Persephone replied to ... Frank Zhang? That was how her Mother had referred to him, wasn't it?

The stocky boy shrugged before offering her a small smile. "That's long enough I guess."

"Strange, after the arena I would have thought they would have been more enthusiast about me." Persephone said, a bit surprised.

"They are." Frank told her, it's more about not having to sacrifice a centurion unless one of those volunteers."

He snorted after the last remark. "As if that would ever happen."

"Any idée which cohort they would pick for me?" Persephone asked her.

"Not the Seventh at least," Hazel said rapidly.

Persephone pointed her eyes at the younger girl, a silent message in her expression telling Hazel to pick her next words carefully.

"It ain't like Whitfield wouldn't want you as a legionary or wouldn't be willing to promote you to centurion at a later date." Hazel explained to her. "but he'd never allow you to replace one of his centurions for any other reason than because picked you."

"The Ninth and Tenth are spares which contain mostly those in the mortal world. So they're out as well." Frank added helpfully. "The First?"

Hazel's expression immediately darkened at the thought of Octavian getting his claws into Persephone. But she had to admit that, unfortunately it wasn't like it was an unlikely option. The First and Seventh were arguably the best cohorts of the legion and since the Seventh wasn't an option. The problem for Octavian was that most the centurions were already in his bag and removing one of them for a new girl would get him in trouble.

The Second, Third, Fourth and Sixth were likewise proper fighting units although not up to the standards of the Seventh or with the prestige of the First. Whilst the Eight was currently guarding most of the smaller, outer camps, outside of the valley. Of course neither of these units was currently lacking a centurion, considering the importance of the position.

Lastly there was the Fifth, their own cohort. The fifth was usually considered the least of the ten cohorts. Whilst both teens doubted that the other cohorts would allow someone like Persephone to remain in the Fifth cohort for a long time, it was not unheard of that a legionary was temporary transferred to the Fifth cohort to serve as an officer until a position in his own cohort had become vacant and he or she transferred back.

Behind them, Hazel heard the noise of the arguing centurions and praetors suddenly increase in volume and turning around, she caught a glimpse of black amidst of the purple togas, making her smile.

Noticing the change in her expression, Persephone raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

"My brother." Hazel explained to her. "He visits occasionally."

"You didn't mention him before," Persephone replied with a hint of curiosity in her voice. The girl noticed the slight stiffening of Frank next to Hazel. The other legionaries were not as subtle though and she swore she even saw one of the make the sign of the cross in a reflex.

Likewise noticing their reaction, Hazel's eyes narrowed and she clenched her teeth before she turned around and walked away, kicking what seemed like a glinting shard of red glass to Persephone away. A moment later, she was back in the small circle. Next to her Frank was nervously licking his lips as he seemed to shuffle a bit forward and to the side, all the while taking nervous glances around him.

Persephone smiled a bit at the large boy's shielding of the girl, softening her features a bit.

"What's his name?" Persephone asked casually.

"Nico." Hazel replied. "He's the ambassador of Pluto." She added helpfully.

"Nico, hmm." Persephone replied seemingly uncaring, but both Hazel and Frank noticed an evil glint in her eyes.

* * *

It took another ten minutes, but by then the Centurions had agreed that she would be added to the ranks of the Fifth cohort. A centurion of the Fifth named Cardin lost his rank in exchange. However the expression on their faces and the tone of their voice made it rather clear that they were expecting Persephone to transfer to one of the other cohorts eventually.

Reyna walked towards the new centurion who being surrounded by her fellow legionaries, was congratulated from all sides even if the way some phrased made it more suitable to a funeral than anything else.

"Get your cohort together!" Reyna told Gwen and Dakota, who except for Persephone were the only present centurions of the Fifth. "We still got to introduce their new centurion to them."

Fixing her gaze upon Persephone, she said. "I'll see you there and at some point afterwards."

Reyna sighed. "There are still things we'll have to discuss and," she paused for a moment and sighed again, "I imagine you'll be having questions of your own afterwards."

She gave Jason a tired wave and the other praetor, who until that moment had seemed stuck in a rather heated argument with Octavian who unlike Jason appeared perfectly calm, stomped towards them after giving Octavian a disdainful glare.

"Uhm, welcome to the legion." Gwen told Persephone. "We'll be gathering the cohort upon the field of Mars in," she paused for a moment to look at her watch, "half an hour?"

The Centurion nodded, confirming her own question. "Half a hour. Preferable with all equipment." She added glancing at Hazel and Frank.

"I'll be seeing you there then."

Persephone stared into the girl's eyes for a moment, then she nodded slowly.

Both remained there for another few seconds, locked in what felt to Gwen like a rather awkward silence, then the centurion quickly turned around and walked away. She shivered for a moment, somehow she couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself, as if she failed a test.

Hazel hesitated for a moment and grabbed Persephone's arm before walking towards the pale faced ambassador of Pluto.

"Come," she said."I'll introduce you to my brother." She shot Persephone a kind smile, almost as if apologising or asking permission.

The newly minted Centurion, shot her a small, but kind smile in return, easily reassuring her.

Turning towards the approaching trio, Nico stifled for a moment, loosing his composure .

"This is Persephone Jackson," Hazel said whilst pointing Persephone's hand at him. "My new Centurion, she's a good girl." She said, before much quieter adding with a hint of uncertainty and humour in her voice. "I guess."

"This is Nico di Angelo, a son of Pluto and my brother."

* * *

Hazel was staring curiously at the two Demi-Gods, feeling as if she had just introduced two forces of nature to each other. Now she was waiting, which would bow for the other.

Until that morning, her brother Nico had been the most powerful demigod she had met so far. Whilst most other demigods tried to dismiss him as a travelling oddball or a curiosity, each of them heard that soft but forceful little voice in the back of their head which kept whispering warnings at them. During daylight, they laughed and whispered, somewhat ignoring the whispering, but when alone or in the dark they kept silent and stayed away. Even if she had been the only one who had ever seen him place a hand upon the stygian iron hilt of his sword, they all instinctively knew. Nico was dangerous!

Even Jason and Reyna had accepted that instantly and she suspected that even Octavian was watching his mouth around him.

However now confronted with Persephone, Nico seemed different somehow, a bit subdued, even hesitant.

"Persephone?" The Ambassador of Pluto asked her, sounding disbelieving.

Persephone grasped Nico's outstretched hand and pulled him towards her, dragging him in a one-armed hug.

"It's me, Nico." She whispered softly. "It's been too long."

Nico took a deep breath.

"Yeah," he whispered, "it's been way too long."

"I've only heard of your disappearance four months ago." He whispered rapidly. "If I had,"

"You'd have been there." Persephone whispered. "I know."

The young woman playfully brushed through the teen's hair. "You should explain the meaning of the word vacation or weekend to your dad."

"You're a hypocrite, Persephone. I don't believe I've ever seen you without looking tired or stressed out." Nico replied with a small smile.

"Thank you, Nico. Such a flatterer you are. That's exactly what a lady wants to hear." Persephone told him, although the hint of humour in her voice robbed her words of most of their sting.

"For what it is worth, you're looking better than ever before." Nico said, a bit abashed. "A bit pale perhaps, but I'll have to admit, it suits you better than me."

"Now that's more like what a girl likes to hear." Persephone replied.

"You two know each other?" Hazel asked taking aback.

Nico blinked, the boy hesitated and stared at Persephone, a momentarily look of panic in his eyes. He was obviously asking the older teen for permission.

"Uhm, how do you two know each other?" Hazel asked, forcing herself to speak.

Persephone smiled. "I am hurt, Nico," she said with mock pain in her voice whilst reaching for her hart, "you have a sister and she didn't even know of me."

She chuckled softly, but her eyes gained an colder, calculating glint. "Then again he never mentioned having a sister." She whispered whilst staring at her.

Hazel felt a cold glide down her spine in reply. Next to her Nico's expression turned as dark as Tartarus. The boy stared at her for a single moment, then he turned his eyes on Juno's daughter. Both understood the message.

"Relax Nico." Persephone told him with a soothing voice. "Mother told me about the camp, I know why you kept this from me."

Nico breathed an obvious sigh from relief and so, she herself believed more inconspicuous, did Hazel.

"The reason why I know him so well." Persephone began whilst eying Frank, who still stood there eavesdropping, warily. "Is quite easy."

Having noticed her point of interest, Nico stared at Frank for a moment before giving Persephone a nod.

The teen shrugged. "It isn't like it a big secret anyway." She muttered.

"I am one of the demigods who came to protect him when a major monster came after him for the first time." Persephone said, instantly catching their attention. "Afterwards I simply continued taking care of Death Breath, here."

"Death Breath?" both Hazel and Frank repeated, disbelieving.

This prompted a small grow of the grin which was sported by the newly minted centurion.

"She's took over the role of a big sister." Nico whispered, sporting a small smile which contained a mixture of affection and sadness. A smile similar to the one which Persephone now sported. The elder teen gently rubbed the shoulder of the boy.

Hazel understood immediately that both were trying to skip around the mention of Bianca, Nico obviously due to his grief but she wasn't certain why Persephone did.

Frank obviously unaware of the existence of Nico's other sister, couldn't help but inquire after Nico's chosen words.

"Took over?" Frank asked.

Hazel winced in reply, Persephone's eyes narrowed whilst Nico simply gave a tired sigh.

"I wasn't the only child of Pluto we rescued at the time, my older sister, Bianca was also there." Nico told him.

Frank stood there awkwardly for a moment.

"Ehm, sorry to bring that up." he whispered obviously regretting his words.

"She died a month later." Nico continued his voice little more than whisper.

"Ehm, sorry again."

"Bianca asked me to take care of him before she was gone." Persephone told him with a harsh almost aggressive edge in her voice which was an obvious warning.

Hazel stared at the older demigoddess for another second, then after eying Frank she decided that he was feeling sorry enough. She exchanged a quick glance with her brother and he nodded.

"Frank, Hazel," Nico said, "why don't you go put on your armour? Persephone and I will be along soon."

Persephone's eyes shifted immediately to the son of Hades, her expression softened a bit but not enough to indicate that she had been fooled by his interruption.

Hazel nodded and smiled, immediately followed by an enthusiastically nodding Frank.

"I'd like to speak with you some more, Nico." Hazel said whilst turning around but keeping her eyes pointed at the pale boy. "Will you?"

Nico gave her a for him unusually gentle smile. "Sure," Nico agreed. "I'll be staying overnight."

Hazel returned the smile and turned her head around.

Both remaining demigods knew that the girl would be giving the Canadian a serious tong lashing before they would be putting on armour.

"Let's get this conversation over with." Nico whispered whilst walking to a small alcove where they would remain out of sight.

Persephone gave a deep sigh.

"What did you do, Nico?" she whispered whilst sinking down against the whitewashed wall of the building.

"I have no idée what you are talking about." Nico replied with an obvious false calmness in his voice.

Persephone sniggered in return. "So if I ask her who the previous president was, what will she answer me?" She sneered.

She sighed again. "You can't fool me, Death Breath." She whispered. "Everyone else perhaps but not someone who knew you and Bianca."

Nico winced when she used his sister's name, but he didn't miss the regret in her voice.

"Do you have any more siblings in the casino?" She asked.

"What makes you think she came from the casino?" Nico asked her.

"Purely hypothetically speaking off course." He added rapidly.

"I've spend, what, over an hour talking to her. I've seen how she interacts with the others, how she behaves." Persephone shook her head. "Most of them I would've dismissed as quirks or a result of her upbringing."

At this point she narrowed her eyes. "A rather old-fashioned and uncaring upbringing." She guessed with a hint of anger in her voice.

Nico couldn't help but nod, something the chocolate eyes of Persehone noticed.

It was hardly surprising Persephone had noticed some of those signs considering how often demigods came from broken families or her own experience with Gabe.

"Once I knew she was a daughter of Pluto, it was rather easy to connect the dots." Persephone admitted.

Nico smiled a bit.

"What makes you think she isn't simply a daughter of Pluto who had bad luck with her mother?" Nico asked her, half suggesting the notion, however even someone who wouldn't have known him wouldn't have been fooled considering the way he spoke.

Persephone sniggered. "Given what Mother told me about Pluto, I doubt that. He's supposed to be the most reliable member of the big three. Mind you, that means less than it should considering the identity of the other two."

Nico showed her a small smile. "True," he admitted. "What about Hazel?"

"Will she need more help?" Persephone asked him, deciding to back off from asking questions about trust.

Nico bit his lip for a moment, looking deceptively much like the teen he actually was, rather than the cold son of Hades which formed the other part of his personality.

"I would like that." He admitted.

Persphone chuckled in reply and reached for the boy's shoulder, making him smile a bit.

"I'll tell her not to run away." Nico joked to her.

"Appreciated." Persephone replied, hiding the wince which his mention caused her.

"Now it's your turn to do the explaining." Nico said.

Persephone sighed.

"You've been to the camp recently?" She asked him.

Nico evaded her eyes at that.

She sighed again.

"Nico." She whispered, not that she could truly blame him since she had abandoned the camp as well.

Perhaps guessing her thoughts, Nico gave her a small, reassuring smile.

It seemed as if her attempts to make him interact with some more demigods outside of herself and the occasional child of Ares with her remaining nearby, had been a waste of time. Again, She couldn't exactly blame him for distrusting the camp after so many had turned upon her, the fact that her sexuality had been an argument made it even less likely to foster any cooperation between him and most other campers.

She shook her head for a moment.

"I simply needed to get away from it all and once I started running, I simply couldn't go back. All I wanted was get lost in the moment and forget about everything else." She whispered. "Hours turned into days and days turned into weeks. Monsters appeared, they tried to kill me and I could lose myself in the battle, again and again."

"I don't know what I was thinking, Nico." Persephone whispered. "I really don't. When Mother appeared and gave me a chance, I just took it."

" I felt warm and so happy." Persephone told him, continuing her tale. "To be told I was right, that I had done nothing wrong."

She smiled when she continued. "Mother gave me a new purpose, a chance to start over again."

Persephone opened and closed her fist rapidly in some kind of reflex. "I guess it must have been like finding Hazel for you, Nico?" she suggested.

Nico stared at her for a second, then he nodded. He knew Persephone had been raised by a mortal named Sally Jackson, a woman who by all account had been a great mother. Just like he knew that Persephone had adorned the woman. Several months after returning home from Camp Halfblood for the first time she had been assaulted by a small number of lastrygonians during gym. She and her then to her unknown half-brother Tyson had ended up killing the ogres with the help from a suddenly arriving Annabeth. However a remark from one of the monsters had implied that they knew where she lived and would be taking revenge. The demigoddess had raced home instantly, closely followed by the two others. Upon the street in front of the apartment she had noticed several monsters, all dracaenae and she had assaulted them without a second thought. None of the monsters survived the slaughter, although Persephone gained one of the scars upon her right-arm that day.

He had no idea what the mortals might have witnessed at the time, but he didn't doubt that that it would have been bloody and brutal, possibly involving a teen and a baseball-bat or something alike. The aftermath of the day had involved Miss Jackson relocating to another, hopefully safe apartment, but more importantly Persephone's (until a couple of months ago) permanent residence in Camp half-Blood. The girl had instantly devoted herself to training and later battle, taking part in every possible quest or skirmish in the war against the Titans. It was only a matter of time before the teen rose to the forefront of battle and first became the subject of the discussions between the leaders and later took part in those herself.

He wondered if the Lastrygonian who had spoken to Persephone in the gym had ever realised what kind of terror he had unleashed upon his own kind. Being forced to abandon her mother after she had been the reason that the woman might have been attacked, again, had been a cruel eye-opener for Persephone. You could talk about supernatural, monsters and Gods for as long you want, you could even be attacked on a supernatural quest or during a mad escape if you wanted, but being attacked at school, dragging so many innocents around you in danger, just by existing had been an eye-opener to the girl. Whatever reassurance Chiron had given her at the camp before, was gone.

Nico had been through something similar, even if he recalled only part of it. The world became a lot darker after such realisations and you began noticing little things which you might have preferred not to.

How lucky both of them had been with their parent-figure was one of those. He had never met Miss Jackson and considering how Persephone turned out to be, it felt like quite a shame. Based upon Persephone's stories the woman was a mixture of a saint, a rebel and an artist. Then again, Nico lacked even a single proper memory of his own mother, he had seen a few pictures of the woman, but the truth was that whenever he thought of the word mother he pictured Bianca and not Maria Di Angelo.

It was ironic but perhaps Persephone and Hazel felt more like sisters to him than Bianca ever did.

* * *

"So what will you do about Camp Halfblood?" He asked.

"Honestly," Persephone admitted. "I don't know."

She sighed. "I already told you that it wasn't like I was exactly thinking when I left."

Nico nodded, but he stayed silent knowing her well enough to realise that she hadn't finished talking.

"Truth to be told." Persephone said. "I had half expected to bump into the Hunt months ago."

Nico raised a single eyebrow.

"You really believe that it is possible to have a group of immortal, hormone-driven teenagers travel the world for ages and keep the existence of a group of purple dressed, fire-branded" Persephone instinctively reached for the inside of her arm at that part, "some would say overtly militant disciplinarians secret from them? Especially considering the part that at least a third of them has Italian sounding names?"

Nico chuckled a bit. "Point taken." He said. "Still, they still tried to keep the amazons secret, no matter how impractical that was."

"Considering the name of one of the biggest global corporations, I say it was a huge effort in futility." She said deadpanning.

Nico shook his head in return. "Still what were you planning?" He asked her, returning to the subject at hand.

"I'd knew I'd meet up with the Hunt eventually." Persephone gave him a reassuring smile at that point. "Even if had to beg my Mother to arrange the meeting, I would have done that."

"Once that was the case I'd have Thalia give Camp Half Blood a message." Persephone said.

"I don't know what I would have told them." She admitted tiredly. "Probably something about doing a last job for the Gods. Tell Clarisse, Chris and the others not to worry about me, that I was happy."

She gave him a tired smile. "Perhaps something about a nice, silent place with a bit of monsters and a lot of cute girls."

"If you're telling it like that they might be thinking you've gotten yourself captured by empousai." Nico interrupted her make the teen chuckle.

"What about me and Tyson?" He asked her, now without a trace of humour.

"You do realise I am in California, right?" Persephone asked him jokingly, showing him a little smirk. "As in merely hours from the underworld. Unlike before, if I wanne see you in person, you won't even have time to shadow travel away."

Her little smirk died away when she continued.

"Tyson is stuck in my father's palace and the cyclopean forges." Persephone whispered tiredly but with some poorly hidden bitterness in her voice. "I could barely reach him even when I was his 'favoured' daughter. Let alone as an unwanted bastard."

"He's not there anymore." Nico interjected. "It seems someone told him what happened to you when he came to the camp."

Nico smirked, remembering Clarisse's expression when she told him the story. The daughter of Ares had been gleeful, even showing a hint of admiration upon her features throughout the tale. Tyson had renounced Poseidon as his father upon the spot, before charging the entire Hermes- and Athena-cabin to give them a piece of his mind. Whereas Tyson's knowledge of insults had been rather underwhelming according to Clarisse. Hearing those words from a seven foot, one-eyed giant who had just ripped an entire door from its hinges, made them a lot more impressive. The fact the Hephaestus-cabin had arrived a few moments later and welcomed the former general of Poseidon's armies and more important to them, one of Beckendorf's best friends and students had done some additional wonders to his 'street-credit'. It was purely coincidence that Chris had raced to the Hephaestus-cabin to tell them of the Cyclops's arrival, just like it was merely coincidence that almost the entire Hephaestus-cabin stood there, still covered with sooth, grime and dirt and each carrying a number of heavy-looking tools with him or her.

Afterwards Tyson had remained mostly inside of the former Poseidon-cabin. The Cyclops had refused to relinquish the cabin and leave for the Hermes-cabin (who, unsurprisingly had been less than eager to accept him) or the Hephaestus-cabin (who had been more enthusiastic about the offer). Still, whilst spending most of his time outside the cabin in the forge with the children of Hephaestus, without Beckendorf their collaboration lacked the cheer which had been present before.

If one of the few younger children of Hephaestus had felt any resentment for the young Cyclops, they had kept it down. Young or not, Tyson was a seven foot tall giant with more weapons then any of them had ever forged, who was recognised as one of the heroes of the last war, enjoyed the protection of three cabins (including their own) and he had a 'big' sister who had earned the right to call herself Titan's Bane.

The Hephaestus-cabin stayed clear from the conflict between the other campers. Both the Ares- and the Aphrodite-cabin had been disappointed in them for this and so was Tyson. Still, Beckendorf's death had obviously struck a deep blow to their moral and it was equally obvious that Luke had retained few friends or admirers in the cabin.

"You weren't aware?" Nico asked her, now sounding rather mollified.

Persephone shook her head in return, a bit paler than before.

"I didn't, I thought he was still unaware." She whispered.

"Didn't Juno tell you about the camp?" Nico asked her, a mix of mere curiosity and surprise in his voice.

Persephone shook her head again. "Mother prefers to keep away from the Greeks whenever possible." Persephone explained. "To many bad memories and reminders of the past, too little respect and affection in return."

Recalling his own father's preference for the Romans, Nico nodded.

"I'll pass him a message." Nico told her. "I found you undertaking a quest for a to me unknown God or Goddess. You were safe and looking happier then the last time I saw you in the camp."

Persephone smiled. "A good cover, it stays close to the truth."

"It is hardly a lie, isn't it." Nico admitted.

He paused for a few moments. "You've changed, Persephone." He said, then he smirked. "You seem a bit more intelligent now, most of the time."

"A queen thinks twice and thrice and yet again before she speaks, Nico." Persephone replied, not sounding smug or pleased, but rather tired.

Nico blinked in return, than he nodded. "Something Juno told you?" He asked her.

It was Persephone's turn to nod.

"Trust me, Nico." She said. "Don't ever waste your time envying someone with a lot of power, you're unlikely to end up happier with it."

"A single conversation with my dad was all I needed to know that."

Another smile lit up Persephone's features.

"Let's change the subject to something happier, shall we?" She suggested.

Nico smirked and he raised a hand. "Motion passed." He said.

"Bob misses your letters, by the way." He said.

"I'll have you pass on some news before you leave." Persephone promised him. "How is Ol' Quicksilver doing?"

"He's fine. Dad promoted him. He is responsible for the fields of Asphodel." He shook his head. "Our uncle is terribly bored. He's looking forward to your letters... and a holiday."

Persephone felt a quick stab of guilt remembering the ancient titan, Iapetus who she had dunked in the Lethe. In a reflex she had told the confused Titan subsequently his name was Bob ( which was definitely not her brightest moment) and that he was one of her friends. Bob had been about as dangerous as a puppy and just as staunch. Unable to cross the Styx at will, she had left it to Nico to take care of the Bob afterwards and she had mostly forgotten about him afterwards. It wasn't until Nico reminded her about his existence during one of his rather sparse visits to the camp that she remembered and had him pass letters and messages along to the Titan. According to Nico, it had brightened up the underworld for the titan.

Afterwards Persephone had began to notice the strange pattern of her acquiring powerful, seemingly dark or wild and obviously dangerous little brother-figures.

"What is he planning to do?" Persephone asked him.

"Visiting you, obviously." Nico deadpanned.

"Better tell him about the adoption though." Nico noted absently to himself.

"His memory?" She asked him.

"Returning very slowly." Nico admitted. "It mostly confuses him, though. He isn't understanding anything at the moment, they're mostly a mixture of dreams and nightmares to him."

Persephone sighed.

"Give me a message when he comes." She said.

"No danger of that happening in the first ten years." Nico told her.

Noticing her expression, he added a single word as explanation, "Dad."

Persephone gave him another small smile in return, then she sighed again.

"Tell him about Calypso, Nico." She said. "Tell him about his granddaughter."

Nico blinked, now obviously taken aback. "You realise what you're suggesting?"

"He'll find out who he is sooner or later, Nico." Persephone reminded him, before adding angrily: "And I am not dunking him in the Lethe again!"

"Do you think they've ever met?" Nico asked her.

Persephone shook her head before replying. "I don't know. Calypso knew her father and disliked him, but Iapetus? I wish I knew him at the time, I would've mentioned Ol' Bob."

"It might not end well." Nico reminded her.

"I know that." She took a deep breath. "He might even end up hating me and I won't blame him."

"You've done the same plenty times before." Nico said guessing her thoughts, he cringed a moment later.

She nodded. "Either way he deserves to know about his family, so does she. This nonsense about secrecy and abandonment won't work out, it never has and never will."

"They might turn upon everyone." Nico reminded her again.

"Perhaps." Persephone admitted, but she doubted that. Calypso had plenty of well deserved resentment for the Gods, but she was not a girl who would rise up to burn or conquer the world. She was a peaceful girl, more interested in watching the world than to move it herself. Calypso just wanted to be free to move through it. Iapetus, she had no difficulty in imagining him fighting and warring for power and revenge, he had done it before(!) but not Bob. Bob was very much like she remembered Calypso, kind and gentle, helpful and trusting, a healer but also a protector. She could imagine him fighting to protect or to free his granddaughter, but not for the same reasons as Iapetus.

"Tell him about Calypso, Nico." She repeated, feeling tired. "You can arrange a visit afterwards."

"Father has his wife turn me into a different kind of dandelion for a month afterwards." He said wearily.

She chuckled for a moment, but her expression did not brighten.

"I'll write him a letter to tell him about Zoe and the other Hesperides." She continued, ignoring Nico's expression at the Hunter's name.

He sighed. "I understand why you want to do that, Persephone. I even understand why you will do it. I just wish you had some certainty that it would end up good for everyone, including yourself."

"Yeah." She admitted. "Sorry about the happier subject."

Nico shrugged. "My fault for not thinking things through." He admitted. "Anything else to make me curse the fates?"

"You'll be needing different shoes. Shoes without metal and with thick rubber soles." Persephone told him.

"Errh?"

"It helps if you're firmly grounded when you're talking to Thalia." Persephone deadpanned.

"What?"

"You're going to tell her."

"What?"

"You're going to tell her instead that you knew where I was for I-don't-know-how-long, but decided to wait until I 'by coincidence' met up with the Hunt?"

Nico paled for a moment, then he threw his arms in the air and began an impressive tirade which lasted for the rest of the trip to the fields of Mars during which he cursed the Fates, Persephone, Nemesis (for obvious reasons), the other Persephone (while he was at it), the day he had met them and a-certain-Airhead-whom-he-wisely-refused-to-name-but-who-for-utterly-stupid-reasons-cursed-his-daughters-with-a-massive-temper-and-control-over-lightning (it was no blessing when you were the one struck down by them). It did make Persephone smile again, though.

* * *

It was the first time Persephone saw a cohort assemble and she was far from impressed.

The fifth cohort contained around five hundred men, divided in six centuries from around eighty men. The centuries stood in two lines. Unlike a Greek phalanx which would have presented a single line of locked shields, the Roman line had gaping holes exactly the seize of the unit behind the gap in the first line, almost as if the rear line would move in any second to fill the gaps. The image reminded Persephone strongly of a chessboard or the five upon a dice. In front of the right century stood a small column of horsemen who were scurrying into place.

Persephone quickly noticed that most people, including the horsemen were equipped in standard legionary fashion. A helmet crested with a plume from black or red horsehair, a cuirass of scales or a mail hauberk (none wore the segmented armour with which Hollywood seemed to be in love with) which they wore over their bright purple shirt. Curiously for the former Grecian, most only wore a single greave at their left leg over their pants. She did notice though that the centurions as well as some the older campers did wear a full set of greaves. Likewise she noticed that there was small minority of legionaries, again most of these seemed at least in their late teenage years who protected their dominant arm with a leather or metal manicae.

At their right side, each of them wore a sword, usually one of the many variants of the infamous gladii hispaniensis. A single javelin was pointed to sky by every legionary, the wooden shaft grasped in their right hand with the spike buried in the turf. A second javelin was carried into their shield which stood in front of them, the weight of the massive piece of wood, leather, bronze and purple paint resting against the knee of their left leg. Old-fashioned gladiatorial sandals had been mostly replaced by leather combat boots with iron cleats though.

Each century held another ten to twenty campers though who were a lot less impressive to look at. These were the velites who served the legion as skirmishers and scouts before the clash between the main-forces and as ranged support afterwards. These campers were lighter equipped than the standard legionaries, they wore a similar helmet and a thicker shirt from the same colour and the same symbols but that was it. Unlike the heavy boots and long pants of the legionaries, most of them wore much shorter trunks and sneakers. The velites were solely protected by a helmet and a large buckler, but without the bronze umbo of a scutum. Like the horsemen, each of them had a long sword, the spatha hanging from a heavy leather belt from the left. However there was a huge variety of weapons in their right hand. Some of them had a spear, like Castus before and a large number of small, almost dart-like javelins in a quiver upon their back. Others were armed with a sling and had a pouch with bullets hanging from their belt and lastly there were archers.

Persephone had to admit she felt a little bit disappointed by the lack of wolf-skins of the velites. They were supposed to be fighting against Lycaon, weren't they?

As impressive as the standard legionaries might have been equipped, something which she wanted to check herself before she made assumptions. The campers in the uniforms were far from impressive. Whilst physical there was at least a certain standard, she doubted most of them would last as much as a single minute in a confrontation with anything more dangerous than an angry pet-dog.

Admittedly, she was massively spoiled due to her habit of working with the Ares-cabin and the Hunt, but still. Most of the campers stood there slumped and hollow-eyed, obviously fulfilling a chore rather than trying to impress the new centurion. She had been prepared for resentment, not this feeling of hopelessness, the utter lack of caring.

There were exceptions of course. A large carrot-topped teen who stared at her with obvious resentment in his eyes. She later found out this was Cardinn, the one she had replaced. Considering the fact he had been a bigoted bully, she was utterly bereft of pity and remorse. There stood four girls between four-and sixteen who were looking at her with curiosity and for the three eldest a mix of a challenge, arrogance and calculation, whilst the youngest was brightly smiling. Another pair of strawberry-blond twin boys perhaps a year younger than her and their to her equally old sister sat among the horsemen staring at her with an obvious mischievous gleam and a challenge in their eyes. Another pair of blond siblings armed with a spear and javelins stood among the velites, both grinning as if they had just been giving a new toy. Persephone noticed several scars upon their arms and bare legs, "At least some of them actually have some experience with war," she thought.

Then of course, there was Hazel who sat upon her horse with a poise and self-assurance as if she was a disguised centaur rather than a human upon the back of an animal. The girl was obviously enjoying herself, enough to have occasionally a smile burst through the calm exterior she was supposed to be showing.

Frank was calmer and had less trouble controlling himself, likewise it was obvious that he was not as happy as Hazel to be among the legionaries. The boy definitely wasn't eager to be a soldier, Persephone suspected. Still she could see some pride and stubbornness showing which she hadn't noticed before. As soft as his exterior might be, there was a certain hardiness at Frank's core. Perhaps the boy was no soldier and truth to be told she didn't know him well enough to say that much, but he definitely was a fighter.

"Perhaps there is more of a warrior in you then you yourself suspect, Frank." She thought.

Still apart from these, there were few people who actually seemed to fit the title of legionary.

Persephone sighed.

"We have a long, long way to go." She whispered.

"Keep me out of this," Nico whispered, "I am going to have loads of trouble just to survive the next week."

"You can beat up idiots who picked upon your sister." Persephone offered.

For a moment it kept silent. "I might drop in every now and then." Nico suggested.

* * *

Persephone's eyes were ice-cold when she stared at the gathered demigods. In front of her the last name had just been called.

"Centurion Jackson?" Dakota said whilst offering her a vine cane. "You replace centurion Winchester, first century of the second maniple."

Persephone nodded and accepted the cane.

Behind them, she heard the loud clattering of wings. A moment later a large peanut butter-coloured Pegasus halted next to her.

Persephone lazily turned her head a bit and she noticed a second horseman, Jason, as well as a third, Octavian approach them.

"Romans!" Reyna announced, barely needing to raise her voice to have every single legionary jump to attention.

"Rather impressive." Persephone thought intrigued.

However part of the impression the motion of the legionaries made was a lost due to the Lares who had yet to stop jockeying for places.

Persephone made a nodding motion with her head towards Nico who shrugged in return.

Nico made a lazy motion with his hand towards the Lares, almost as if telling a dog off. A moment later the ghosts seemed to race away from the human ranks, forming a separate century next to the line.

Most campers blinked and stood there, gaping at the spectacle and blissfully unaware of its cause.

The three riders and the centurions in front of the formation weren't though and stared at the two of them, before at least temporally dismissing it as unimportant.

"Right." Octavian whispered, still taking aback, before shouting with a clear voice, "Standards!"

Six teens, five boys and one girl stepped forward. Each of them was equipped like a standard legionary but each of them wore a lion-skincape over his or her's helmet and shoulders and had his or her's heavy scutum replaced with a buckler. More notable were the poles they were holding. Unlike the rather short wooden staff and the long metal head from the javelins, these were long and heavy spears with a brass hand encircled by a crown of bronzen leaves above a small plaque with the name and position of the century which served as a cross-piece.

Persephone did not fail to notice that every single standard lacked phalerae or medals. Something which explained the feeling of embarrassment which seemed to be rippling through the cohort.

"Romans!" Reyna repeated. "You are aware of Centurion Jackson's testing today. She was guided here by lady Juno herself and proclaimed as her daughter.

She sought to join the legion." Reyna continued. "And she passed her test brilliantly."

Reyna took a deep breath.

"After a long discussion, the oldest centurions, augur and praetors decided to have her serve in the fifth century."

The 'for now', remained unspoken, although Octavian was looking rather amused at this point. Small wonder since he had been one of the most fervent arguers for the Fifth. Jason had suggested the Fourth, his own cohort and Reyna had been mostly neutral, if against the Fifth.

A very half-hearted cheer came from the Fifth.

"Errh," Dakota began, "My cohort has spoken." Dakota said. "We accept the recruit."

"More like whispered." Reyna corrected him, only just loud enough to be heard by him and Persephone.

"Congratulations, Centurion Persephone Jackson." Reyna told her, putting an obvious emphasis upon the word centurion, whilst looking at said girl with a silent apology in her eyes. "You are a centurion and a full member of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, with all the privileges and all the duties belonging to the rank. Serve Rome, obey the rules of the legion and serve the camp with honour. Senatus Populus Que Romanus.

A more enthusiastic cohort echoed the cheer over the field.

Reyna wheeled Skippy away from Persephone, obviously glad to be done with the task.

"You might want to have that talk with me after diner." Reyna suggested to her.

"Centurions," Reyna said, barely looking at most of them. "You and your troops have dinner in one hour, then you will proceed with your tasks."

Then she turned around and Skippy spread his wings again before taking off. Jason followed her, whilst Octavian went in the other direction.

"Well, you've heard the praetor." Dakota said as if he was actually suggesting something obvious.

"I did. She said dinner is in one hour." Persephone replied with a sharp undertone in her voice.

"Do you have something important planned for them?" She asked Dakota in return.

"Not really." Dakota said rather pleased. "So I thought we could dismiss them, most of them were training all morning and desperately in need of a bath."

He smiled at her during the last part of his sentence.

"Good, than I won't have them delay anything important." Persephone replied in return, keeping her voice even, then she gave him a little smirk. "I'll try keeping upwind whilst inspecting their weapons and armour."

* * *

A half-tang sword, another half-tang sword, a poorly mended javelin-head, a ton of varnish upon the leather from the pieces of kit, a dagger missing a rivet, a hauberk with rings so big she could pierce them with her nails, even a sword that bordered on having no tang at all, ... . At first she had suspected the Fifth had been composed of the riffraff of the other cohorts, something she was still assuming. But the state of their weaponry had quickly shown that it went much farther than that. She had seen her fair share of poor weaponry and bad reparations, but this went beyond merely disregarding their weapons. The number of the bad weapons was simply too large for that, it was almost as if all the poor weapons had been dumped in the lap of the Fifth. Something she was starting to find less and less unlikely.

It had suddenly become starling obvious why the standards had been left bereft of medals since the Alaska-expedition. Too many of the weapons (and she was stretching the word in ways borderline to torture) were unlikely to have a use beyond cutting bread and smearing butter upon the side. Sending anyone out with those clumps of metal would be little different from sending someone away to kill himself. If the weapons didn't broke after one or two strikes, they would fail to pierce anything stronger than wet paper and the less she said about the armour the better.

Sincerely, if these were the best arms the Fifth could muster, there was no wonder the legionaries seemed unwilling to feel some pride in their cohort.

It had taken a long time to finish the inspection and in the end she had concluded that she was going to have words with the one who had supplied her cohort with their equipment. If those people were uncomfortable with words like crucifixion, disembowelment and impalement, well she was already past caring.

It was perhaps a quarter of an hour before their dinner when Persephone entered the depot. The depot was a large, square shaped building with an open courtyard that stood near the southern gatehouse from the fortified encampment. The inside was mostly bare wood and was at around two third of the hall divided in two parts by a series of tables who served as a counter.

Persephone could see several legionaries scurrying around, all of them moving but none of them in a hurry.

"What are you needing here?" asked a surly looking teenager with dark eyes and a bored sounding voice.

"A full kit." Persephone told him.

"Probatio, hm?" The boy said casually. "Which cohort?"

"The fifth." Persephone replied, making him snort. "And I am not a probatio, which cohort are you?"

She showed her bandaged wrist to emphasis her status.

"I was luckier than you." He replied with a smirk. "The second."

"I heard there was a testing during afternoon? Must have impressed them a lot to have them make you a full legionary." He said almost sounding congratulatory before adding, "for the Fifth."

Persephone smirked in return. "I like to think so." She whispered, with a trace of dark amusement in her voice.

Placing a pack upon the table and pushing it towards her, he announced that the price, eight hundred denarii would be withdrawn from her pay.

Opening the pack, Persephone's expression darkened. Whilst the sword and helmet seemed fine, the hauberk was much too big which was understandable, that the mail rings were too wasn't.

"The weapon and helmet are fine, this thing needs to be reforged." Persephone told him whilst shoving the hauberk towards him.

"The hauberk is fine, no need to change or reforge anything." The boy replied without even bothering to check her kit.

"Funny I disagree and I refuse to pay for that piece of pigmetal junk." Persephone said now actually revealing a hint of the anger she was currently feeling.

"Funny, I say it is." The boy said, now raising himself to his full height which was a little more than hers.

"And I say it isn't." Persephone repeated before taking a deep breath, apparently seeking to calm herself.

"Look we're both tired and hungry." Persephone replied. "So let's handle this as quick as possible or get me someone who will."

Now actually looking angry the boy smacked his hands upon the table.

"You're a member of the Fifth, so whatever it is you got, it is fine for you! Now get lost." He said with a loud and angry voice.

Persephone looked around for a moment, searching for someone who would react upon his outburst. Nobody did.

"Get me the quartermaster." She ordered the boy with an angry glare which succeeded in actually making him step back.

Then he regained his courage and he stepped forwards again. "I am the quartermaster."

"Really?" Persephone said, lowering her head a bit. "And you say this kit is fine?"

"Yes, yes it is." He said now with an obvious smugness in his voice.

Persephone grabbed his wrist with a sudden motion.

"Good, why don't we test that out then." Persephone suggested with a friendly tone of voice which was obviously false.

"I suggest we use a method from the eighteenth century." Persephone continued, ignoring the assistants who seemed intent upon surrounding her.

"A what?" The boy yelled with a suddenly more high-pitched voice.

"A live demonstration of its effectiveness." Persephone explained with a rather smug voice. She dropped the hauberk in the boys free hand.

"Put it on!" She ordered him whilst reaching for the sword in her pack.

"Are you mad?" He yelled. "Once I'll mention this to the centurion of your unit you'll be digging latrines for the rest of your stay."

"Really?" Persephone asked him, sounding even more pleased.

"Yes!"

"Then let me introduce myself, fully this time." Persephone told him whilst giving the closest approaching assistant a nod. "Persephone Jackson, centurion of the first century of the second maniple from the Fifth cohort. At Rome's service."

"What?"

Persephone gave the assists a short smirk, then every bit of pleasantness seemed to evaporate from her features.

"Get out!" she ordered with a voice which would allow for no contradiction and a glare which made clear that whatever it was that would happen, they would want to get as far away from it as possible.

"Perhaps you're right about this hauberk." The quartermaster suggested carefully.

"Get the books with the sales to the Fifth for the last years!" She commanded him, pushing the boy away from the table towards the actual storehouse with equipment. A moment later Persephone stood at the other side of the counter.

"Get the books!" She repeated, then added. "I'll return tomorrow with some of my legionaries for proper equipment."

"We'll be talking once we have those books!" She snarled at him whilst throwing the hauberk against his chest forcing him to catch it afterwards, "and keep this with you! You might decide to test mail anyway."

* * *

 **All reviews are appreciated, all flames will be blamed on children of Vulcan/ Hephaestus.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Fourth chapter, the biggest so far. another 12 234 words or 20 word-pages.**

 **first announcement: I am going to try updating a bit more regularly, more or less every month something that can meet my standards (this does not mean they will always be over 8 000 words, but I will try to have at least five thousand words each [unless impossible])**

 **Second announcement: I've added a picture to the story. For those who're interested, just type Smite, Bellona & golden armour (yes, it is a wallpaper from that game and no, I haven't played it).**

 **Lastly I was asked about Persephone's current powers and whether she retained anything from Poseidon. I am afraid that Persephone lost most of her Poseidon-inherited powers apart from a few vestiges (for example she can still swim and sail, mostly because she's experienced in these rather than having some innate talent though, furthermore she is unable to talk to horses and sea-animals although she remains a great horse- and fish-whisperer). As requested I will be adding a list with powers inherited from Juno in the future, or I will have them clearly explained in a chapter (and add a list for good measure). However that will remain in the future for a while. Whilst I have a general idee about her powers, I refrain from binding myself to a certain set of powers until I am certain about those and the consequences they'll have. (I don't want to give her powers just because they seem nice or the opposite: being forced to add powers because I forgot them in the first run.) I will reveal though that they'll be mostly subtle, rather passive or supportive (so no brain-washing or mental control). Considering her adoptive mother's nature I figured these kind of powers were more suitable than something overly dramatic.**

 **All reviews are appreciated.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own a thing from the series except a number of paperbacks.**

* * *

Thalia sighed instantly when she entered the arena.

A few feet away from the entrance, Clarisse turned her head for a fraction of a second towards the lieutenant of the Hunt before returning it towards her latest sparring partner. The daughter of Ares blocked a quick slash from the boy's sword with her shield and then tried to shove it in his face. The boy raised his shield in return and succeeded to block most of the force with it. Even so he still heard some bells ringing when the bronze rim struck his helmeted forehead. Using the distraction Clarisse stabbed her spear between his legs. Then she stepped backwards whilst moving the tip of her spear to the left. Her opponent, still distracted by the blow instinctively tried to create some distance between them and took a step backwards. With the spear caught between his legs, he stumbled and fell down, upon his back. A quick kick from Clarisse's sandaled foot removed the sword from his hand. A moment later the boy felt a shadow fall over him and looking upwards, he saw Clarisse had raised her shield high above her head, almost as if she was planning to make it fall down like an axe or he shuddered at the comparison, the blade of a guillotine. Considering the weight of the shield, the comparison was less farfetched than most would initially assume.

"I yield." He whispered instantly.

Clarisse stared at the boy for another second, as if she was actually contemplating to slam it down, then she nodded.

"Pick another partner," she ordered him whilst turning away, towards Thalia. Said girl gave her single nod then she pointed her head towards the seats of the tribunes next to the field.

Around them, as if by some kind of silent order, another seven teens ended their spar almost simultaneously and walked towards the tribune as well. Even if they kept a respectful distance of the two, it would be hard to mistake their intention, bodyguards.

Thalia snorted softly at them, but she did send the three silver-jacked girls a small smile. Clarisse on the other hand simply rolled their eyes.

"You think they trust me enough to take down a single little tree-nymph." She muttered loud enough for Thalia to hear her. Artemis's lieutenant raised a single eyebrow in return.

"You notice they send four campers against three hunters." Thalia whispered in return. "Feeling confident, even after our last capture the flag?"

Clarisse glared at the huntress for another few seconds, then she shrugged.

"You found anything?" Clarisse asked her whilst taking a seat.

Thalia shook her head. "Nothing." She whispered, obviously frustrated. "If I wasn't so annoyed with Persephone, I'd be impressed."

"You found out how she left?" Thalia asked her in return.

"I know who is to blame." Clarisse replied instead, then her expression darkened and she stood up for a moment.

"Keep it up, you spineless wimps!" She yelled with a loud voice at some of the campers. "You wouldn't fight off a pack of girl scouts selling cookies, let alone a horde of Cyclopes! You really wanne call yourself, heroes?"

Clarisse sat herself down again. "Bloody newbies."

Thalia gave an exasperated sigh. "You really love making their life difficult."

"You wanne help?" Clarisse asked her whilst removing her helmet from her head.

The eternal teen shrugged. "It is not as if I have something better to do."

Clarisse sighed in reply whilst rubbing a hand through the few pale brown hairs which had been able to escape her bandana and had now been pasted against her skull.

"My siblings are exhausted." Clarisse said. "They, Enyo's children as well as Phobos's and Deimos's brood have been running double tours for the past two months."

She gave another sigh. "I'll never repeat it and I am going to kill you violently if you do, but I am glad you and the Hunt arrived last night. I doubt we could keep it up for another week as it was."

Thalia shot Clarisse a for her unusually gentle look. "I am sure you could gone through another month of two without sleep or rest." She joked.

"One of the northern outposts was attacked three days ago. They counted seven slain empousai within the defences before they turned to dust." Clarisse replied whilst shaking her head. "One day before that, it was one of the southern posts, we drove them off without losses on our side, but they've been sneaking around for at least another week."

"Probing for a gap in your defences?" Thalia suggested.

Clarisse nodded. "I am certain of it and when they find one, they'll pour through it and destroy whatever outpost it is that had the misfortune of dropping it's guard."

"And than it will be up to us to fix it and flush 'em out." Clarisse reminded them both.

"Most likely." Thalia admitted.

"I'll have some of my huntresses look for traces of them," Thalia promised the daughter of Ares. "If we can catch **them** unaware, we might be able to turn the tables on them for some time, War-girl."

She smiled at the bronze armoured girl. "It might allow you and your siblings some of the much needed sleep."

"Sleep is for the weak." Clarisse replied with some of her more usual bluster, seemingly forgetting her earlier remark about exhaustion.

Thalia chuckled for a moment, then she sighed. "Wasn't this supposed to end or at least be reduced after Chronos's defeat?" She asked no one in particular.

Clarisse sighed again. "It has lessened, Thalia." Clarisse whispered, now actually looking much more guarded than before. She waited for a moment, checking her surroundings. "They're no longer united, their attacks are not as organised as before. It is mostly their numbers that makes us stretch ourselves to the limit at the moment."

"So you've noticed the increase in numbers as well." Thalia said curiously.

"I am a daughter of war, Thalia." Clarisse reminded her. "Weapons, species, attack patterns, ... I notice those things. They've grown in numbers, however they're no longer united."

"Chronos should've waited a bit longer. He would have had at least twice as many monsters if he did." Thalia said. "You think we should be grateful?"

Clarrisse made a frustrated motion with her hands. "They're mostly waiting now, catching their breath after the beating we gave them last time. What worries me is what will happen once they're done doing that."

"You mean if they turn upon us in force?" Thalia asked her.

Clarrisse shook her head. "That's frankly the least of my fears. No, what if they find a few more like Sess and Antiphates among their hordes."

"Or one of the remaining Titans or Gods to unite and lead them." Thalia added, suppressing a shudder.

"It will be the Titan-Wars all over again for us." Clarisse admitted. "And I am not looking forward to that as much as I should considering I am a daughter of Ares." She added sourly.

"You've mentioned it to Chiron?" Thalia asked her.

"I did, but I think he hopes I am reading too much in everything. Still he allowed me to work those newbies a bit harder than before." Clarisse replied sounding tired before her voice gained a harder edge. "Something he should have done months ago. They wouldn't have had the breath to complain about Persephone if he did."

She sighed again. "Personally I am more afraid I am not reading enough in it."

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked her.

"Persephone." Clarisse explained. "It is something I came up with some days ago."

Thalia tilted her head in response. "Continue." She demanded.

"Well as much as I hate to think those idiots drove Persephone into running away, what if they didn't. What if something else happened, what if her treatment was only some coincidence or an excuse to cloak what really happened?" Clarisse whispered.

"You think someone killed or kidnapped Persephone, rather than her running away." Thalia whispered in return.

Clarisse nodded. "I know it seems rather farfetched but after Luke, I don't think it is impossible, not really."

"I find it hard to believe anyone would be capable of taking Persephone down without attracting attention." Thalia replied, obviously doubtful.

"I find it hard to believe that she disappeared and that it takes over four days before anyone notices it. It still happened." Clarisse rebutted.

"Anything which supports your ideas?" Thalia asked her.

Clarisse shook her head. "I checked the labyrinth, still closed down and I couldn't really find a gap in the Border." Clarisse chuckled for a moment. "Your old tree is doing fine by the way."

"I know, still thank you for checking." Thalia replied.

"But to continue. I checked up who stood on guard outside the camp and likewise checked upon the harpies. They saw nothing, but most of them were some of those half-trained new kids." Clarisse snorted. "I bet they wouldn't have noticed it if Persephone stole one of chariots on her way out."

"Besides," Clarisse added. "if it is one of the new guys or Luke's old crowd we might still be nowhere."

"You think one of them is a spy?" Thalia asked Clarisse.

"Honestly, " Clarisse confessed, "I don't know anymore, Thalia. I am a warrior. I like things to be simple, point me at my opponent and I fight. Tell me to defeat the enemy and I'll find a way. There are few things that determination, courage and strength can't hold back and I like that."

"This," Clarisse made a sweeping motion with her arm. "this is far from simple and I feel like I am growing more insane with every passing day."

Clarisse growled and raised her right hand, clawing it like the talons from a bird. "We should protect the new campers, we should teach them to protect themselves, we should go easier upon them since the war has ended. We should work harder at finding more demigods, we should make sure they reach the camp safe so we should keep a closer watch upon the roads, the outposts are under constant attacks maybe we should abandon those and stay safe behind the Borderline and ..." Clarisse's growling turned into an animal-like roar.

"Those cursed idiots should make up their mind, damn it." She growled. "They want us to do at least a hundred things, most of them contradicting each other."

"It used to be so simple, Thalia." Clarisse told her whilst clutching her own head. "We were fighting monsters and everyone helped."

Clarisse shook her head. "Now it feels more like everyone is fighting everyone whilst the monsters are watching us, occasionally probing for a weakness and when they find that."

Clarisse slammed her fist into the palm of her other hand.

"It is like I told Chris before, Thalia." Clarisse whispered. "I am angry and tired. It is not just physically."

She pointed at her temple. "It is mostly here."

"Clarisse..." Thalia began, but Clarisse interrupted her.

"Don't Thalia. I know what I am saying. I am a warrior, I wanne go back to that. Just us against an hostile world with our backs to the wall and a comrade to watch our flank."

She grinded her teeth together. "Luke took that from me, Silena was the best friend I ever had and he forced her to become a traitor. Now he's doing the same to the camp."

"I doubt Luke intends to..." Thalia began but Clarisse shook her head again.

"I am no fool, Thalia. I know that he honestly believes he's doing the right thing, again! But this isn't my camp anymore. For all the arguments, my camp stood together. I didn't like you when we met, just like I didn't like Persephone at the time but at no moment would I have hesitated to stand by you two when in danger, just like you two wouldn't have hesitated either."

"And now we're friends." Thalia added.

Clarisse sighed. "And now we're friends." She repeated tired and softly but without any bite or sign of hesitation about it.

"You might not spend enough time in here to notice, but this isn't the same camp you left behind and I am not just talking about the absence of an unified army of monsters and demigods intend upon our destruction." Clarisse said. "These campers, They're like children. Arrogant and bragging, judging, constantly arguing or making demands, mostly about petty things." Clarisse sighed. "I am tired of them, mostly."

"You're planning to run off as well?" Thalia asked her.

Clarisse shook her head. "No," she said. "Even if I understand why Persephone would do so. No, me, my siblings and some of the other campers decided to leave the main camp for some of the southern outposts. We'll set up some defences there and then we'll see. We're not abandoning the Camp despite loathing most of the newbies, but we're tired of how we're treated here."

"Is Chiron aware?" Thalia asked her.

"He isn't and neither is old too-drunk-to-remember-the-names-of-those-who-walk-around-here-for-several-years." Clarisse chuckled for a moment. "I doubt he'll be pleased, neither will the rest of the campers but that's their problem not ours."

"Let them try and stop you, eh?" Thalia suggested. "If they try, give me a sign. I wanne watch the massacre, so will the rest of the Hunt."

"Chris would charge you for tickets." Clarisse whispered conspiratorially.

"Give us a good show and I might even buy my popcorn from him." Thalia whispered in return.

"Sincerely though, about Persephone, if you find her," Clarisse began.

"I'll make certain to let you know." Thalia reminded her. "But I am afraid the odds aren't as great as most of these idiots assume they are."

Clarisse grinned at the girl, remembering the eruption of "Mount Thalia" when Travis had tried to explain why none of them had been worried about Persephone before.

" _Well, we thought she had merely joined the Hunt, I mean we've all heard the rumours in the Camp." Travis told Thalia, speaking as fast as he could whilst the girl who had grabbed him by the throat suddenly decided that coating the fingers of her other hand in lightning was a good idea. For his remaining good health, Travis realised it would be better to him that he abstained from mentioning that Thalia had started a few of the rumours about the Hunt herself during her time as a camper._

" _Contrary to some of the rumours in Camp Half-Blood," Thalia told the Stoll adopting a tone which made it absolutely clear that she would publically castrate him, his twin and for good measure Luke as well, if he ever dared to contradict her on the current subject, "the Hunt isn't a poorly disguised travelling agency for badass lesbians."_

 _It also seemed better to forget that Thalia hadn't been adding the word badass in those days, either._

Shaking her head to dislodge the memory, Clarisse missed the first notes of the horn.

"You heard that?" Thalia asked her.

Clarisse nodded. "An attack," she said trying to interpret the sound, "at the southern border."

Thalia smirked. "Hunters!" She yelled, before grasping her silver horn and making a long, high note sound throughout the arena and it's surroundings.

"I'll take my girls to the border at once." She suggested. "We'll slow down whatever it is until you are there."

Clarisse nodded. "Understood." She said whilst giving a half-mocking salute.

Clarisse pointed Maimer at the previously training demigods. "All armed Campers of War with me!" she yelled at them before raising her weapon to sky.

"Move it, you maggots!" She yelled, but without much of a bite.

Noticing some sons of Ares with an obviously laboured breath, she ordered them to stand back. "Get to the others gathering at the cabin." She said, making clear she would allow nobody contradicting her at the issue. "Once there are at least twenty, take those with you to the border."

"We'll need some impact when we strike them." She reminded them. "Not piecemeal."

Clarisse was a daughter of Ares herself and one of the oldest of those too, she knew better than forbidding a child of war of going into battle for "minor" reasons like exhaustion, lack of armour or poor odds.

Unlike most of the other campers who seemed intent on running to the Border, Clarrise and the other children of War turned to the left and slowed down after a few hundred feet. Simply marching the last bit of distance to the stables.

"All' right, mount up, people." Clarisse ordered the remaining teens. "Best riders alone, the others ride with two or even three demigods."

Some of the campers stared at her after the last part. "We ride to the battlefield." Clarisse told them, "but most of us will fight upon our own feet."

A small cheer came from the forty teens who had accompanied her.

"Mind waiting for another sec." A voice asked her, making her smile instantly.

"Chris?" Clarisse asked without looking behind her, seemingly very focussed upon mounting her Pegasus instead.

"Great minds think alike." The boy replied, obviously entertained. "You weren't planning to enter into combat without me, weren't you."

"You were late." Clarisse replied but unable to hide her grin.

"I had to pick some kids up." He said in return, pointing at a few of his own siblings and some children of Aphrodite, each of the last was armed with a short bow made of horn.

"Lacy?" Clarisse said, calling the daughter of Aphrodite out.

Said girl, a rather shy looking girl in her mid-teens raised her hand in return, obviously not really comfortable with the attention from the much tougher looking daughter of Ares.

"You remember what we discussed?" Clarisse asked her whilst patting the neck of her own Pegasus, a rather dark coloured animal that was scraping his hooves impatiently through the dirt.

Lacy nodded in return. "Do you think it is necessary?" She asked Clarisse.

Clarisse shrugged. "I don't know." She admitted. "but if we get in a pinch, it will help. At least for a short while.

Chris gave Clarisse an apologetic look and reached for the girls hand before leading her to a tall black Pegasus who seemed to keep a bit from the others.

"You remember what we kindly requested of you?" Chris asked the horse, still feeling rather stupid for being talking to a horse without Persephone, or Tyson for that matter. Blackjack neighed in a way that resembled a nod.

"Then you also remember why we ask this of you." Chris said, for a moment the horse stared intently into Chris eyes, making the teen feel rather uncomfortable. Then the Pegasus nodded again and kept his head (and his wings) lowered, allowing a rider to mount him.

Lacy was looking very uncomfortable once she sat in the saddle, even with Chris's reassurance that she couldn't fall out of the saddle.

Padding the sword which hung in front of Lacy from one of the horns of the saddle. "It is made by Tyson." Chris said reminding her of the weapon, whilst taking her own bow and quiver with him.

"Don't worry about anything for now." Chris continued. "Just stay close to the rear and hide yourself behind your siblings until one of us gives the signal."

"Remember to look confident!" Clarisse added whilst leading her Pegasus to Chris's.

"You ready to kick some ass?" She asked Chris the moment the boy sat in the saddle.

"I am up to it." Chris replied. "You think you'll be able to keep up?" He continued before giving his horse a gentle kick to send it off.

"Ooh, that boy did not just challenge me." Clarisse exclaimed with a loud voice, provoking quite a bit of laughter behind her whilst taking of herself.

* * *

The battle at the edge of the border was going badly when Clarisse and Chris arrived.

Even a rather conservative headcount would number the monsters around a two hundred. True, minor monsters mostly, empousae, dracanae, lastyrgoinians and a few Telekhines. There was not even a single major monster in sight, if it had been the case there was little chance that the members of the small outpost, even with the help from one of the guard patrols at the border would have been able to survive.

As it was now Clarisse saw a short column of maybe thirty demigods desperately trying to reach the border whilst another twenty demigods had charged through the Border which protected the camp to help them.

"Idiots." Was the first thing Clarisse thought when she noticed the border guards. There was a small river to the side and she had no doubt that most Telekhines were quickly swimming through the water in an attempt to cut the campers off rather than to continue wobbling forward at the rear of the monster-forces.

Dracanae were dangerous and experienced fighters with a sword or spear, an excellent force in a battle, but they moved rather clumsy with their mix of walking and slithering, meaning that most of these were likewise at some distance from the fight. The empousae were faster, but again their dissimilar legs meant they had a rather typical gait which was a bit slower than most humans could run. Lastly there were the lastyrgoinians and it were mostly these that did the actual fighting at the moment. Still it wasn't as if the others wouldn't be catching up in the end.

She made her Pegasus halt for a moment in the air, then she pointed Maimer at the ground underneath them.

"Have most of the demigods dismount there." She ordered Mark. "Chris and me will take down as many of Telekhines as we can before we rejoin you. If we're not back before the phalanx is ready, send two or three of the remaining pegasi-riders to us.

"Will do." Mark replied before steering his Pegasus to the ground.

"Remember," Chris yelled after the teen, "children of Hermes at the flanks, not in the centre."

Clarisse chuckled for a moment. "Understood, strategos." She said before pointing her spear at the course of the river. "Shall we?"

Clarisse skimmed a first time over the water, unsurprisingly she noticed quite a few dark shapes, Telekhines.

"Okay, Chris are you ready?" She asked him. In reply Chris raised the small bow he had taken from Lacy and aimed a first arrow upon the shapes in the water.

A moment later Clarisse skimmed diagonally across the water, this time stabbing her spear down several times before she reached the safety of the shore. Two telekhines drove up to the surface, still some time away from dissolving in the water. Whilst a third jumped out of the water, towards her. However his clawing hands fell much too short to reach Clarisse and his body fell back into the water. Before he reached the safety of the water again, the telekhine erupted in a rather high-pitched scream and struck the river with an inelegant thud which made the water splash around him. A combination of gold and red mixed itself with the water of the river whilst the telekhine's thrashing died down. Behind Clarisse Chris placed another arrow upon his borrowed bow.

Clarisse threw her boyfriend a quick smile, before refocusing upon her task.

"There is more than enough water to make Maimer's electricity dissipate." She warned Chris.

The boy threw a quick glance behind him. "Then we'd better get on with it." He reminded her. "Before they're starting without us."

"Just watch my back." Clarisse replied, turning her pegasus around for another attack.

"That joke is just too easy, Clarisse." He whispered, whilst indeed watching his girlfriends back. His sharp eyes quickly detected another motion in the corner of his eye, costing another three telekhines a trip to Tartarus.

The telekhines quickly realised their assailants strategy and it didn't take long before some of them attempted to reach the riverbank in an attempt to catch Clarisse. Two more died by Chris's arrows, another three by the blade of Maimer. But enough reached the bank to imperil Clarisse who couldn't gain the necessary speed and therefore altitude to cross the river again whilst defending against the large demon-seals. Noticing the danger, Chris drew his sword and spurred his Pegasus forward. A moment later Chris's animal rammed a first Telekhine back into the river, his sword quickly ended another pair of Telekhines existence upon the earth for the moment. Freed from her distraction, Clarisse continued her assault upon the Telekhines in the river, until the water gained a vague red and golden shine.

More Telekhines crawled out of the water and Clarisse and her boyfriend exchanged another glance.

"What's stopping those reinforcements?" Clarisse asked angrily.

As in reply there was a soft cracking sound followed by a sharp twang. A second later one of the Telekhines fell backwards into the water a silver arrow sprouting from the top of his head. Merely moments later other Telekhines were falling as well, each with at least one arrow inside of him. those who hesitated had little time to regret it whilst those who turned around, had only seconds to reach the water and to swim away. One extraordinary large Telekhine who was momentary protected by a screen of large rocks and trees wasted a few moments with wondering where the arrows came from. Than he was set upon by a small pack of feral looking wolves, which tore him literally apart in seconds.

Clarisse blinked for a moment, staring at the instantaneous turning of the tide. Next to her Chris slowly sheathed his sword and reached for his borrowed bow.

"Thalia?" Clarisse asked with a loud voice, although in truth she held little doubt about the identity from her reinforcements.

The silver jacketed huntress walked calmly out of the woodwork, closely followed by another seven huntress.

"Who else?" She asked with an obvious pride in her voice, before her voice became a bit more cheerful and she pointed at her boot, saying. "Heel, girl."

One of the wolves immediately ran towards her, taking her place at Thalia's feet.

"You took your bloody time, getting here." Clarisse told her whilst pointing her spear at the killed Telekhines. "I was afraid we'd be doing all the work. Did you get lost in the forest?"

She smirked a bit when she noticed the disgruntled expression of most Hunters which her words caused.

Thalia shook her head in reply. "Far from it, we've been here for a while." She admitted, making Clarisse frown.

"There were six Lycans at this side of the river." She explained. "another five at the other bank. We had to kill those before we could help."

"Lycans?" Clarisse repeated.

"Werewolves." Thalia added helpfully.

"I know what Lycans are." Clarisse snapped. "But they haven't been close to the Camp in what? Seventy years? They're supposed to remain at the other end of states, no?"

"I know." Thalia admitted whilst rubbing her hand affectionately over the head from her own wolf. "Clearly someone forgot to mention that little fact to those mutts, over there."

"If I judged their age correctly, each of them but one was rather young." Thalia added.

"They might be upon some sort of quest of their own for Lycaon." Clarisse suggested.

"Most likely." Thalia admitted. "I'll ask lady Artemis permission to leave in the morning. If those mutts are arrogant enough to partake in an assault on Camp Halfblood then there is a lot of trouble brewing in the West."

"Trust me," she continued when she noticed Clarisse's expression. "You don't want to discover the amount of trouble Lycaon is capable of brewing."

"They can only die by silver, is it not?" Clarisse asked her.

"Yes, unfortunately."

"Than I owe you one," Clarisse admitted, suppressing a shudder at the thought of a giant wolf jumping at her from the forest whilst she flew above the river bank.

Thalia chuckled. "Good enough." She replied.

* * *

Away from the stream, the leader of the quickly retreating members from the outpost was currently swearing at every Titan and "previously" treacherous God or Goddess she could remember.

Dragging her knife across the throat of Lastyrgonian, the girl dove away from the wave of blood and gold dust that seemed to surge from the wound. For a moment she lay there, than a heavy looking club slammed into the earth, merely inches above her dagger. She blinked for a second, then she launched the weapon at the cannibal's face, making the creature instinctively slap his hands over his features, a bit of red and golden blood pouring through the gaps between his fingers.

Quickly scrambling backwards, the girl stood up whilst grasping one of her spare daggers in her hand. A moment later the bleeding Lastyrgonian in front of her rejoined his brethren in Tartarus and she reached for a third dagger.

"Back to the border!" She yelled with a clear voice. "They can't get us there."

She took another quick step backwards when she evaded a wild swipe from a club which a Lastyrgonian had swung in the direction of her voice. Then she noticed the rough looking humanoid staring directly at her.

She swore again, a sound which was instantly hidden by the Lastyrgonian's loud roar of pain when an arrow struck his thigh. It threw her a furious glare before he limped off, hiding himself behind some of the nearby trees.

"Thomas," she yelled at one of the few demigods behind her with a bow, "am I still invisible?"

"There is quite some mud upon your back, Annabeth." He replied, "I can see your outline easily."

She groaned and removed her cap. There was no point in remaining half-invisible if the only ones using ranged weapons at the moment were your friends.

The blond evaded another strike and struck the Lastyrgonian's hand with her shield, a small leather buckler with a bronze umbo.

She lacked the time to finish the monster off, instead she turned around again and continued running towards the border.

In front of her was a small column, perhaps a little over thirty-five fighting demigods and a few satyrs, something between forty-five and fifty if you counted the walking wounded at the front of the column. The warriors of camp Half-Blood were currently locked in vicious running battle with the fastest from the approaching monsters, which were almost solely Lastyrgonians.

The resulting battle was going poorly at best, calling it a confusing mess was doing it some justice as well.

It was a seemingly never ending loop of running, pushing some of the slower kids forward and turning around to exchange a few strikes with the faster monsters before they seemed to get to far from the column and they were forced to turn around. In the series of clashes between demigod and monster, at least two demigods had fallen, possibly more and whilst at least twice as many Lastyrgonians had left their bodies upon the field, the exact nature of the fight meant that the demigods had been unable to extract the vengeance they would have in a battle of a different nature.

Still, she held little doubt about the demigods reaching the safety from the border, especially with the reinforcements of the border guards, what she feared was the number of survivors with them.

* * *

Clarisse stared at the rather fast approaching column of demigods and satyrs. It was a rather familiar sight for the survivors of Titan's wars. Seeing a small group of demigods and godly servants like dryads or satyrs surrounded and under attack by monsters, seeing them desperately trying to fight off their attackers whilst running for the safety of the border or one of the lesser camps. Seeing them trying to keep their wits and ranks together, knowing that once the group fell apart and everyone only tried to save their own skin, was the moment all battles ended and the massacre began.

She could remember Persephone once comparing it to a massive boar chased by hounds or wolves. None of the predators is strong enough to kill the boar on its own, but together they could do so easily so the boar ran instead of confronting the pack head on. Once running the hunters chased after him, wounding him, trying to whittle his strength down whilst the boar either tried to reach safety or comrades, all the while threatening his assailants with his tusks. If he did succeed, the pack had rarely another choice but to break off their attack or else risk their own annihilation, but if the pack was capable of sapping enough of his strength to slow the boar down or even capable of cutting him off!

Clarisse gazed upon the picture of a red boar which adorned a number of shields from her siblings. She smirked, she doubted Persephone had chosen the boar in her analogy by coincidence. The two of them had been a part of those hunted columns for too many times. So had Annabeth and whilst she had to applaud the teen's ability to keep a level head, Annabeth lacked the instincts to keep the column properly together or the savagery to make her opponents look for easier prey elsewhere.

She guessed that was part of the reason why she and Annabeth had never been able to get along, certainly with Persephone, Thalia, Tyson or even Nico there had been something to bind them together, but once that had been cut off they were simply to different. Annabeth was all about calm rationality, when she spoke about war it was almost like a game of chess or a mathematical formula.

This was as far from the truth as possible to Clarrisse, even if she understood that those "board games" had their uses. More importantly it felt wrong to her, war just like many other things should have only as much to do with calmt and rationality as was strictly necessary. War was mostly about emotions, guts and gore. There was nothing remotely intelligent or civilised about it. Truth to be told she preferred it this way over Annabeth's mathematics. Mathematics couldn't be fought, instincts could.

You don't think war, you smell it, hear it, feel it, sometimes even taste it. It was the scent of human bodies pressed together, sweat, blood and even excrements, it was the sound of a few instruments and battle cries as well as the much more numerous growling and grunting, it was the clenching of your guts when the fear settled and the shaking of your limbs due to nervousness, it was the salt taste of sweat and the hint of metal in blood. There was very little glory in war, even she knew that.

She could feel the weight of her shield now, the weight of the heavy oak and bronze trying to pull her arm downwards. Her legs weren't shaking though, even if occasionally they felt like they would. The churning inside of her stomach hadn't stopped though and she endured the familiar feeling of her fears whilst keeping her eyes fixed upon the charging lastyrgonians whilst most of the monsters behind them were gathering in two rough battle lines.

Her limbs felt heavy, but she knew that would change soon enough. Her throat was dry, that wouldn't. Her breathing grew faster, but every time she exhaled what should have been a soft, barely noticeable sound became a throaty noise, like the growl or hiss from a predator. Unnoticed by herself, a red sheen began escaping her skin as if her blood was evaporating before the eyes of the other campers. Her fingers paled when she grasped her weapons harder, an action which was imitated by numerous others. Until a couple of seconds ago, she had felt cold, but now that cold was rapidly being replaced with warmth and obeying the urge to do something, anything at all, she smacked the ashen shaft of Maimer against the rim from her shield, initiating the clashing of numerous weapons.

Clarrisse stepped forward and she threw a quick look behind her, at Chris who gave her a gentle stare and for a single moment her eyes softened. Then she turned her head again, a rapid almost brusque motion and her eyes were just as harsh as before. There was no trace of mercy or kindness left in those eyes but she smiled, it was a brutal, almost demented grin which left her exposing her teeth to the enemy. Clarisse focused her attention entirely upon the enemies in front of her, trusting her siblings and Chris to protect her vulnerable flank whilst she killed everything that dared to oppose her. She wouldn't look back, she trusted them and just as importantly, she never wanted to have them see her looking at them with the expression she saved for an enemy.

* * *

Clarisse growled loudly whilst stabbing Maimer deep into the stomach of the Lastyrgonian, she raised her shield to stop the club from the dying monster upon the top of the rim and then slammed the centre of the hoplon's in its face, grinning evilly when she heard the crunch from the breaking bone. Another Lastyrgonian charged her and she stepped forward, planting a boot upon the chest of the dying Lastyrgonian and blocked her new opponent's swing with the centre of her shield. She took a diagonal step forward whilst pulling at Maimer, forcing the stomach of the slain Lastyrgonian to release her weapon. She lunged forward and slashed Maimer across the chest of a third Lastyrgonian making a loud electric crackle pierce through the cacophony of grunting and growling before the Lastyrgonian screamed in pain. The second Lastyrgonian fell upon his left knee after she brought the full weight of her shield down upon his right knee during her sidestepping of him. He died moments later when Chris finished him off with a quick thrust through the heart. Clarisse simply grunted whilst slapping the sword from an Empousai aside with the shaft from her spear and seemed to push her shield towards the servant of Hecate, making her hastily step backwards, only to be stopped by the shield of the Dracaena behind her. A short, throaty laugh escaped Clarisse 's lips whilst she pierced the Empousai's chest with the tip of Maimer.

Another opponent threatened her vulnerable left flank, but the Empousai was thrown backwards by a powerful slam from her shield. She stabbed Maimer in the throat from the Dracaena who's shield had been pushed down by the dying Empousa and roared, the crimson sheen which had enveloped her body turned into a blazing bonfire. All around her monsters took a first step backwards and then a second as well, making the daughter of Ares laugh all the louder. It was no mere laughter though, instead it seemed like a mixture of a rapid heaving as if she was a drowning man in need of water, animal-like growling and laughter. There was a hint of lunacy in her eyes when she stabbed her spear in her next opponent and an obvious relish in the shedding of blood.

Behind his girlfriend Chris resisted the impulse to swear, knowing he couldn't afford to waste his breath. the teen simply stabbed his sword down into the leg of a Lastyrgonian before slamming his shield in the face of the distracted cannibal. Unable to spare the time to kill him, Chris left it to one of his siblings to finish the monster off and continued forward. He killed another cannibal with a quick through the throat, an idiot who was distracted by his desire to turn away from Clarisse and somehow failed to notice the proximity of the other demigods.

Stepping up his pace he somehow succeeded in keeping the pace with Clarisse, protecting her flank whilst covering his own weapon with several layers of blood and gold dust.

Grasping the moment of the monster's hesitation, Chris threw a quick glance at his & Clarisse's siblings as well as the other children of War. Most of his own siblings had stayed behind to protect the vulnerable flank of the phalanx. He could see them fight hard and well, killing every monster that had the brains to try sneak around the sheer impenetrable wall of oak and bronze. He couldn't help but feel jealous for the much easier job they had, killing small groups and even individual monsters instead of the seemingly never-ending swarm with which he was confronted.

He sighed and blocked another slash from a long, surprisingly thin looking blade with his own leaf shaped sword, planted the heel from his boot upon his opponents sandaled feet, crushing some of the small bones and slid the ogres throat. Then he kicked the monster back into the mob and lunged at the exposed dracaena behind it.

Behind them the phalanx was approaching, slowly but unstoppable. Individual monsters had been ruthlessly piked down by the demigods. Larger groups threw themselves upon them and discovered themselves unable to stop them, instead they discovered they were now in the range of the spears as well. Blades, clubs and spears failed against the heavy shields, a number of those weapons were simply slapped away by the spears of the demigods though and their monstrous owners then found those same spears aimed at the exposed parts of their bodies. And all the while the phalanx marched onwards, slowly but unrelenting. Killing all what stood before them and crushing everything under their boots that wasn't able to escape.

Behind the phalanx, the pegasi-riders had been waiting each with either a bow or a long, two-handed lance in their hands and seeing the dishevelled ranks from the monsters grasped the opportunity eagerly. All but one Pegasus unfolded their wings and galloped forward before they jumped and remained in the air. Most of Aphrodite's children simply stayed in the air using their new position to pepper the ranks of the monsters with arrows whilst staying out of the reach of the monsters. Like their half-sibling, Eros, each of them was an capable archer although none of them was capable of equalling the Hunters or the born marksmen which were the children of Apollo. The others, children of Hermes and Enyo flew a few feet above the helm crests of the Greek demigods before striking the already dishevelled ranks of the monsters. The weight and impetuosity of their charge slamming monsters aside if those had the good fortune to escape the long lances. There were few pegasi-riders, only four, but each caused a deep wedge in the lines of the monsters before turning around again.

* * *

At the original front of the battle, Annabeth had united the remains of the outpost and the Border-patrol and formed a more rudimentary phalanx. Well aware of the proximity of the border, she send the wounded of with another three healthy demigods and most of the remaining satyrs for support and hopefully unnecessary protection. Unfortunately whilst the remaining number of demigods under her direct command was only a little less than Clarisse's she knew the difference in quality was immense. If they charged down and engaged the monsters, many of them would die against the superior numbers. This meant that there was little she could do except for threatening the monsters with her own battle line and trying to whittle down their numbers with arrows and skirmishes. She had rarely felt so powerless.

Behind Annabeth, Luke was rapidly approaching with another hundred demigods, unfortunately most of them, whilst not exactly young children were rather new campers and few were in full armour and none of them was fresh like Clarisse's forces had been.

The blond teen recognised her boyfriend immediately and smiled. Luke ran immediately towards her.

"Are you all right?" He asked her, immediately searching for traces of wounds amidst the dirt that been smeared upon her.

"I am." Annabeth confirmed, then she pointed at Clarisse's phalanx. "Due to them, have your demigods fan out, we got to help them!"

Luke nodded and paced his hand upon the hilt of his sword, Backbiter.

"You've heard her, heroes." Luke yelled at them whilst unsheathing his sword. "form a battle line!"

"Do you have the veterans to form a phalanx?" Annabeth asked him.

Luke shook his head in reply, making Annabeth curse for a moment.

Behind them the demigods were slowly taking up positions, she could hear the numerous cabin-heads and other leaders yell orders, mostly veterans first before the younger campers started mimicking them. It was almost torturously slow and even more so to Annabeth and the first campers who had witnessed the much more fluid formation from the War-phalanx.

"Luke," she began.

Said boy guessing her thoughts, shook his head. "They'll be just as good in couple of months."

"In a couple of months, maybe." Annabeth admitted to herself. "let's hope that these two hundred monstersare an exception."

"We'll march down slowly and in good order." Annabeth called out to the demigods behind them.

"We're not going to charge them?" Asked, almost yelled a son of Hermes, a veteran of the Titan-Wars.

Annabeth shook her head. "We got to retain the formation, we can't attack them piecemeal." She told him with a calm voice.

"We're over a hundred strong." The demigod almost yelled back. "We can cut them down with ease."

"And suffer at least ten dead and even more wounded." Annabeth added in her mind. She couldn't blame him for the idée though, during the Titan Wars taking on a foe whilst outnumbered two to one would have been called good odds, something which still defied every bit of common sense in her head. However there was massive difference between the campers of the Titan Wars and the ones they had with her. She started to feel some greater understanding for Clarisse and Persephone who had been the most active participants in the defence of the camp afterwards. The difference seemed almost ridiculous and not all of it could have been simply attributed to the much, much greater experience of the veterans.

Staring at Luke she knew he agreed with her, even if he would protest against it for a while, but the training would have to get a bit more intense than it currently was, unless attacks like these would stop suddenly. "Best not expect that too much though," she thought. "when did monsters ever do what we hoped them to do."

* * *

Upon the battlefield the monsters had noticed the approach from the much larger force of demigods and had further recoiled from the battle against the children of War. Chris and some of the other leaders of the children of War had noticed the shiver that had went through their ranks and felt their own morale soar. Nearly a quarter of the monsters had been forced to retreat from the actual battle to deal with the threat from the other campers, what remained showed plenty of signs of breaking already. Clarisse noticed the same instinctively as well. She erupted in another growl and almost as if strengthened by their fear, she seemed to redouble her efforts, singlehandedly tearing deep gaps into their ranks.

For a few moments ignored by the monsters, Chris reached for a small horn he had strapped to his belt. He had "borrowed" the instrument a couple of days ago from a son of Apollo, absentmindedly he wondered whether the kid had noticed the "misplacement" of the horn or not.

He took a deep breath before putting the horn upon his lips and a rather poor imitation of a hunting call blared across the battlefield.

"Well if that doesn't chase them off," he thought whilst silver arrows began falling down, piercing the unprotected backs from monsters, "few things will."

Noticing the approach of the other demigods, he smirked again.

"Well," he whispered with that same smirk, "it seems that this might be the best opportunity we get to test our little plan. May Apollo have mercy on our ears.

He placed the horn once more upon his lips

This time it was a angry blare which blew across the battlefield. Moments later the pegasi-riders turned around and formed a thin, menacing line above the wall of bronze from the phalanx, leaving a single opening in the centre. For a single second time seemed to stand still, than a pitchblack shadow seemed to fall from the sky. The black Pegasus neighed angrily and seemed to glare at the monsters in front of it. Upon it's back the rider pointed her sword, a long leafshaped bronze weapon at the opposing mass of monsters.

The field fell momentarily silent.

"Campers," she yelled. "Shell I begin?"

A massive roar from the ranks underneath her came in reply.

"Persephone!"one yelled, whilst another went "Titan's bane" or "Monster slayer!"

The ranks of the monsters fell apart and turned around, they had enough. Behind them both forces of demigods broke ranks and chased after them, ruthlessly killing everything too slow to outpace them.

"Persephone's" Pegasus descended slowly, making no attempt to chase after the monsters. On top of the Pegasus the rider's contours seemed to shimmer. Her face quickly lost its tan and it's features became more rounded, younger whilst her dark hair was turning into a bright blonde. Her figure became a bit smaller with less developed muscles and she seemed all of suddenly rather out of her place upon the black Pegasus with a sword in her hand.

"Ehm, how did I do?" She asked Chris who was rapidly approaching, all the while supporting a rather tired looking Clarisse.

"You did great, Lacy." Chris told her genially. "I doubt they noticed a thing."

"Still not confident enough." Clarisse grunted, "but it was not too shabby for a first time."

"She means you fooled most people." Chris added. "And a good job."

Clarisse gave him a disgruntled look before she stabbed the rear-spike of her spear in the ground and sat down leaning against a tree trunk. The teen took her helmet off and threw it a few feet away from her. Then she removed her bandanna from her head and swept her hand through her hair.

"Take a rest, you've earned it." Chris told Lacy whilst he kneeled beside Clarisse and carefully placed a hand upon her shoulder. For a moment Clarisse stifled, then she nodded and rested her head upon his shoulder. The girl closed her eyes.

"Guess you've earned your rest as well." Chris added noticing his girlfriend with a small smile.

"Not tired." Clarisse mumbled, "just resting."

"That's what I said." Chris replied, his smile growing a bit larger. "Resting."

"Good."

He sighed, when he noticed the approaching Annabeth and Luke, as well as a mischievous smiling Thalia, who's own spear was flickering a bit more than it should.

"No rest for the wicked and weary." Chris mumbled ruefully, no doubt the two first mentioned wanted an explanation for their faux-Persephone.

* * *

"You offered to see me?" Persephone asked her.

Reyna raised her head up, her eyes were narrowed and she glared for a moment, then she sighed rather deeply.

"I've just been through entire meal with Octavian." She said, half growled. "I am sorry if I seem... tense, but after that I'm not as relaxed as I had intended to be."

"Octavian?" Persephone asked, somewhat recalling the name, whilst she took the chair opposite of Reyna's desk.

"He's the one that branded you." Reyna reminded her.

Persephone instantly touched the bandage upon her arm and made a face when a fresh wave of pain shot through the limb.

"I think I can... understand that." Persphone replied, making Reyna snort.

"A sadistic bastard?" She asked Reyna who had bended to her side for a moment, aiming her eyes at something underneath the table. Persephone could see she was moving her arm and Reyna's eyes seemed to soften for a moment.

"Without a doubt, but a bit more subtle than you're imagining." Reyna replied before staring into Persephone's eyes. She sat there another few seconds like that, then she shook her head, once again dismissing that nagging feeling about the name Persephone Jackson. "If you have the bad luck of meeting him again, which you will, don't let him open his mouth, trust me on that."

"A politician?"

"Yes."

"Great." Persephone muttered whilst rubbing her hand against her forehead. "just what I don't need, more liars and smart talkers."

The older teen shook her head again. "Still you called me here for more than just a warning about Octavian, isn't it?"

"Yes," Reyna admitted. "It's about your cohort, the fifth. What's your first impression of them?"

"Hm, before I answer that question, how straight-laced are you?" Persephone asked her in return.

For a moment Reyna's frowned at her, then she gave a tiny hint of a smile.

Persephone sighed. "Honestly I am not certain. Most of them seem as far off from my idea of a legionary as they could be, and others." She shook her head. "To tell you the truth I am surprised that most of them ever passed Lupa's judgement."

Reyna laughed, but without any pleasure in her voice, then she shook her head.

"Do you know the history of the fifth cohort?" She asked Persephone.

"Mother and Lupa gave me an impression of what they've been through until recently. They stopped after an expedition to Alaska. Where the legion lost it's eagle. They stopped after that but that's what twenty-thirty years ago?"

Reyna nodded. "The legion suffered a lot of casualties during the expedition, few of those who took part ever made it back alive and those that did," Reyna paused for a moment and shook her head. "I don't know whether it is true or merely a fairy tale." She admitted. "But from what I heard, not even a single soul was willing to tell what happened, others even had gone mad."

"And the Fifth was made the scapegoat in the aftermath." Persephone completed the story.

Reyna nodded again. "In the defence of the camp, the praetor who led the expedition, a former centurion of the Fifth named Michael Varus went in against most other centurions and his colleague at the time."

"They put someone named Varus at the head of a legion?" Persephone asked her.

"Spare me the jokes about 'Varus, Varus! Give me back my legions' and 'Progress, scarcely more than three cohorts worth of legionaries and a single eagle'." A glowering Reyna told Persephone. "The jokes might have been original when he campaigned for the post, not a quarter of century after the disaster he caused."

Persephone smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't resist the opportunity." She admitted.

"So did a lot of people." Reyna deadpanned.

Than she sighed again. "Either way, in the aftermath most of the Fifth and all of its officers were killed, the eagle was lost and so were the original banners of the Fifth. What remained was little more than those too young, sick or wounded for the expedition. That was the first time the senate suggested erasing it entirely in attempt to get rid of the shame."

Reyna turned her head towards Persephone. "Honestly, I think it would have been better if they would have ended it at the time."

Unknown to her, Persephone narrowed her eyes for less than a second.

"Why?" She asked Reyna upon a tone which betrayed nothing of the conflict inside of her. The newly minted centurion had already become aware of the rot inside of her cohort, just like she had some indication about the way it was abused and at the same time encouraged by the other parts of the legion.

"If they would've wiped they name at the time, it would've ended the shame. There was scarcely anyone remaining of the original cohort, few people would suffer if the remains of the Fifth disappeared." Reyna explained to her. "unlike the full numbers it has now."

"Afterwards they mostly filled it up with the gutter scrapings of the recruits." Reyna continued, sounding rather tired and more than a bit disappointed.

"Don't take it the wrong way?"Reyna added, at least trying to sound a bit more upbeat. "It isn't like they're the scum of the earth or anything, it's just usually they're," Reyna paused for a moment, obviously looking for words, "the least desirables. Those without ancient families or a great name to protect them, those who don't seem extraordinary at a first glance, ..."

"They're still the least of the campers." Persephone said, waiting how Reyna took the statement.

"Us Romans value strength, Persephone," Reyna chided her, "Respect is something earned not given or demanded and considering what they've done so far to regain their honour."

"True, please continue." Persephone replied.

"Either way, most cohorts used the Fifth to get rid of their least desirables and the least interesting recruits." Reyna continued.

"Something the other cohorts made certain to make the Fifth aware of." She added in her mind.

"Isn't it hard to regain their honour if the better members are almost instantly transferred to the other cohorts?" Persephone asked Reyna instead.

Reyna chuckled for a moment.

"Did I tell you that they're still regularly debating about erasing the Fifth cohort from the list." Reyna told her with a calm voice whilst staring into Persephone's eye.

"Some of them think to remove the Fifth and instead institute an Eleventh cohort."

Reyna snorted. "As if a change of names would help without changing anything else."

The praetor noticed Persephone stifling, it was faint, barely noticeable but it was there.

Then she shook her head and unknown to Persephone, she rubbed Aurum's head. The other teen only noticed a slight motion of the praetor's arm.

"Tell me, Persephone, what are you planning to do with the Fifth?" She asked the older teen, as entertaining as it was trying to find out what the daughter of Juno really was thinking by minute clues from tone and tic's, she couldn't afford to waste time.

"Just what is best for them and the camp." Persephone answered, clearly trying to frustrate Reyna's attempts at fishing for information.

"And would that involve switching to a real cohort the moment that you have the opportunity?" Reyna asked her, purposely putting an emphasis on the word real.

She noticed another flash of irritation in Persephone's eye. Reyna smiled instinctively.

"If that would be the best for everyone." Persephone replied, with only a hint of sourness in her voice.

A loud growl instantly erupted from behind the table which made Persephone jump out of her seat and launch it a point next to the table, just in time to strike Aurum. A moment later riptide rested in her hand and was pointed successively at the golden dog, Reyna and Argentum who had likewise appeared next to the table, unveiling each and every single one of the gleaming, sharp teeth in its maw.

"It would seem that you lied." Reyna explained to her, looking rather smug but still raising her empty hands in a pacifying gesture. "I wonder where the lie was?"

Persephone glared at her for a single moment, then she said: "I am not planning to leave the cohort in the sorry state it currently is."

Both automatons instantly took a step back and stopped growling although neither closed its muzzle completely, just enough to appear less threatening.

"It seems that you speak the truth." Reyna told her, now sounding a bit more pleased.

She reached for the silver dog whilst motioning the golden dog with her head. "Aurum and Argentum." She explained whilst Argentum walked backwards to her. "These were a gift from Vulcan to one of the previous praetors. They're no weapons, nor are they alive but they're even more loyal than the actual animals to the true Praetors, as dangerous as a member of Lupa's or Diana's pack and they can detect a lie or a half truth even if the speaker herself isn't actually aware of it himself.

Reyna smiled whilst petting the Argentum. "It is a bit cheating for a conversation like these, but it helps." Persephone noticed Aurum pushing her chair back towards her with its head and Reyna signified that she could retake her seat.

"What are you planning with the Fifth?" Reyna asked her, now adopting a friendlier tone than before. "And please speak the truth." She added with a small smile.

"That joke was horrible." Persephone replied.

Both dogs remained silent.

"Traitors." Muttered the praetor with mock-annoyance.

Persephone shook her head. "Honestly, I am not really certain what I'll have to do." She began.

"You're going to try turning the Fifth in proper cohort." Reyna concluded, making Persephone nod.

Reyna sighed.

"I applaud that thought, Persephone, I really do." She said. "However to tell you the truth, I am doubtful whether it can be done."

"You're not the first to try that and," Reyna began, "if you do, I doubt you will be the last."

"There is something rotten in the cohort, I know of at least three of their centurions who tried and a lot of legionaries who did the same. All failed and most of them eventually requested a transfer to one of the other cohorts."

"Which is most likely part of the problem." Persephone interrupted her. "They see their own cohort as some sort of prison which they have to escape if they wanne mean something."

"True," Reyna said, agreeing with her. "But how do you solve that?"

"Giving them something to take pride in for starters." Persephone reminded her.

"Pride, in what?" Reyna asked her, snorting. "You saw how they greeted you, even after your performance. There is no pride in them."

Persephone remembered some of the faces and expressions during her introduction. There had been some pride, but in themselves and nothing for their cohort, most likely from members who were serving with the hope for a better cohort.

"The Fifth has serious issues, but they're not just limited to the rank and file of the cohort." Persephone said remembering the other centurions and just as importantly the reaction of the other legionaries once they heard she was member of the Fifth.

"You're talking about Dakota, Gwen and the others?" Reyna asked her. "They're hardly ideal, but they keep the order."

"They're a huge part of the problem, Gwen is the kind of girl you expect to organise a slumber party, not to lead an army and Dakota seems about as interested in being a proper leader as I am in becoming a maenad."

"Gwen is popular," Reyna replied defending the centurions although she wasn't overly passionate about it. "most legionaries don't wanne let her down. Dakotta, ..." Reyna sighed. "He was one of those who tried to change the Fifth and eventually just gave up."

"That's only some of the rot on the inside though," Persephone told her. "I am no less worried about the rot on the outside."

"Explain?" Reyna asked her, now sounding much more curious.

"Did you ever check their weaponry and armour yourself?" Persephone asked Reyna in return.

"I did not, that's the job of their officers." Reyna said. "I don't believe I ever saw more than the first line and those usually looked fine, more or less."

She raised her head for a moment. "Has this anything to do about the complain I received from a quartermaster about your behaviour?" She asked Persephone .

Persephone's eyes narrowed for a sec. The boy had smelled like a pig, looked like a pig and now she found out he squealed like one as well. She would have to remember that for the future in case she "forgot" and "accidently" locked him up with the Clazmonian Sow.

In return she reached for her backpack and pushed the books with the sales to the Fifth over the table towards Reyna.

"What did you find out?" Reyna asked her.

"At the moment, very little, except the fact that he was swindling the Fifth, most likely with the help from at least one of their centurions and possible with the protection of some higher rankers."

"All that in less than a day?" Reyna asked her suspiciously.

"The boy was foolish, arrogant and overly confident in his protection by the centurion and I-don't-know-who-else." Persephone explained. "Furthermore he reacted rather badly upon the transition."

"What transition?" Reyna asked her, staring at Persephone who sported a small, but rather smug smile.

"He was used to being stoat among rabbits, I made him stare into the eyes from a hungry she-wolf." Persephone said turning the small smile she had sported earlier into a broad, almost feral grin.

For a moment Reyna stared at her with a rather curious expression, then she snorted.

"I never saw a sign of swindling. What proof do you have?" She asked her.

In return she took two mail hauberks out of the backpack, making Reyna for a moment raise an eyebrow at her.

"This is the one he tried to dump on me first, the second is the one I gained after persuading him." Persephone said pointing at the large rings of the hauberk which she had taken back with her, well aware that she would need more evidence than just her testimony.

"This should never have left the forge." Reyna said after taking a single look. "What about the rest?"

"The weapons and helmet were fine. It was only the hauberk, at least it was with me." Persephone told her.

"Go on."

"Quite a few of my legionaries have likewise faulty equipment." Persephone continued, Reyna ignored the "my legionaries"-comment for now.

"Define quite a few!"

"At least a third has been equipped with one or more pieces of rubbish!"

"Gods." Muttered Reyna angrily before sighing. "If they had been pitted against monsters with those, ..."

Persephone shrugged, but still her voice contained a bit of venom. "In their defence, I doubt he or any of them expected the Fifth to serve in a serious battle against monsters."

"Still, I agree that the Fifth has no priority for weaponry but there's a difference between giving your own an advantage and giving those toys away!" Reyna replied.

"Did he offer better in exchange for money?" Reyna asked her.

"He tried to bribe me with such once he realised who he was talking to." Persephone replied smugly, leaving no room for doubt about the effectiveness of the attempt, before adding. "It is quite obvious that is usually the case though."

Reyna swore. "It is equally obvious that at least one Centurion was in on the plot, most likely in exchange for a percentage and that the others closed their eyes for it."

She growled. "They're responsible for the equipment of their troops, if something like that happens to even one of their legionaries they have to intervene, coming to me if that is necessary."

It had a reason that Persephone held no high opinion of her fellow centurions of the Fifth.

"They never did?" Persephone asked her curiously.

"Never, neither me nor Jason ever saw or heard so much as a mention about a request for taking a look at their weaponry."

"You don't have a secretary who could have 'waylaid' such a request?" Persephone asked her.

"We haven't. Jason and I have been the sole responsible for that administration, exactly for that reason." Reyna added coldly. The previous praetors had utilised such secretaries, unfortunately at least one of the three had been one of Octavian's cronies. Afterwards both she and Jason had agreed not to employ such if they were somehow able to handle the load themselves.

For a moment Reyna wondered if she might be too harsh on the other centurions of the Fifth, it wasn't difficult to imagine they had actually tried to do something about the problem, only to be slapped down in return. In hindsight, that wasn't overly unlikely. For all their qualities, their predecessors had been rather impatient and even more so with those who failed to reach their standards and unfortunately they had considered the Fifth far below their standards.

"I see why you believe some higher ups might have been involved." Reyna told Persephone angrily. "In hindsight I can imagine quite a few who might have unwittingly or not have aided that attempt."

Persephone tilted her head for a moment, obviously surprised about the amount of cooperation.

"Jason and I have been praetor for less than a year, Persephone. I can assure we knew nothing about it." Reyna reminded her. "And as you can see, we're not happy about finding out it happened."

"What about those higher-ups?" Persephone asked her.

"We'll see what we can do." Reyna told her before admitting. "I doubt we'll be able of doing a lot though, I suspect most are more about neglecting to do something rather than actively participating."

"Furthermore half the camp will find little fault with their actions if they can spin it right." She added in her mind, unknowingly mirroring Persephone's thoughts.

"This is such a headache." Whispered Reyna angrily.

"Is that a reason to quit it altogether?" Persephone asked her mockingly.

"No!" Reyna replied, almost spat obviously angry.

She noted the approving smile upon Persephone's features.

Reyna sighed. "You still planning to reform to Fifth?" She asked her.

Persephone raised a single mocking eyebrow.

"It won't be simple, if it is even impossible and it won't be making you popular, at least not with the rest of the legion as you can see." Reyna warned her.

"I knew it wouldn't be simple when I started thinking about it." Persephone told her. "And I knew it wouldn't make me popular, in fact, It will probably make me the most hated centurion of the Fifth."

Reyna sighed.

"Then I wish you the best. Start with your own century and we'll see how good it works before expanding to the rest of the cohort." Reyna told her. "Take care of your cohort, I'll try to keep the others off your back, as well as offer some help when possible."

"Appreciated." Persephone replied whilst extending her hand to the praetor. "And please, be so kind to let me reintroduce myself." "

My name is Persephone Jackson, Daughter of Juno, Centurion of the first century, second maniple of the Fifth cohort, at your service." She said utilising a much warmer, less guarded tone of voice than before. Persephone gave her a bright, kind smile which showed Reyna a hint of her white teeth and there was no trace of deception or suspicion in her eyes.

"Nice to meet you."

Reyna accepted the hand, showing a smaller, but still for her unusually lightly guarded smile.

"Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano, never call me that! Happy to have you lead the Fifth." She replied.

"Thank you for this conversation, I am certain it helped." Persephone told her.

Reyna showed her a small grin.

"Is there anything else you wanted to ask?" Persephone asked her whilst walking towards the door.

Reyna hesitated for a moment and Persephone knew she saw Reyna's eyes point at Argentum & Aurum for a fraction of a second. Then it was gone and Reyna shook her head.

"It shouldn't matter by a lot." Reyna replied.

"Are you certain?" Persephone asked her obviously catching Reyna's doubts.

"I am certain." Reyna told her after having another deep intake of breath.

Dismissing the notion as unimportant Persephone placed her hand upon the handle from the door. "Well if you change your mind, You know where to find me." She told her.

Reyna waited until the teen had closed the door behind her.

"It was no lie." She thought, as the praetor it wasn't supposed to matter that the girl looked like someone from her past, and even if she was that person, it still shouldn't matter.

Still she knew she just had lost a great opportunity to find out whether her doubts where anything more than her imagination or not.

She sighed and sat down again. "Got to get Jason." she thought whilst staring at some of the documents upon the desk. "We'll have work to do! Especially with what I might have unleashed."

* * *

 **If you made it this far, would you mind leaving a review. Impressions of readers are very much appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

**First some bad news, due to personal reasons my next upload will be somewhat belated. Probably around the tenth of august rather then the first.**

 **Second, half a month ago or so, I became interested in a challenge of Whitetigerwolf. An underworld-Harry Potter crossover. (like this story, it will be femslash, but with a harem. Hera [which is fem-Harry, no relationship with the Goddess] will be in a relationship with Amelia & Sonja as well as her human servant out of the Potter-world. Possibly Selene will be added into this harem as well, but only if I can give her a proper reason to enter in a relationship with fem-Harry [no collection of lemons or a mass of partners due to the almighty author: I find character-building and depiction highly important, so I have already a proper route in mind]). That story will appear somewhere in July. That said, that story will be a bit faster paced than this one. Although this one will start picking up the pace as well: (Do I hear an outcry of Yes, finally?) the depiction of the first days are mostly over now, so no worries: we should be about to see some more Reyna-Persephone interaction as well as some action (as in battle, not that kind of action). By the way, this will remain my main-story and I have currently no plans to drop it or put it on hiatus.**

 **Thirdly: I've introduced some OC as well as cast-members of RWBY _(Great series, watch it, read it and buy the merchandise! Hope that gets any potential lawyer from my back)_ as characters. Before the previous chapter I had no real intention of introducing characters of another series. I changed my mind because creating a proper OC takes a lot of work whilst paying not really off, especially if you only post once a month. I figured these characters would be a bit more memorable than OC _(who cares about OC by the way? I'll admit I generally don't, but they're necessary if the canon has a rather limited cast_ ), which would make my writing a bit more fluent due to not having to reintroduce these minor-characters every other month (I doubt that once I reach a certain amount of words people reread every chapter more than every once in a while). As I said before all of these are minor-characters, they'll add some spice but won't be overtly important. ooh and before people start wondering whether I am about to change the pairing to Persephone-Nico, he'll remain an important character but Reyna will start to feature much more prominently in the future chapters. So yes, it remains Persphone-Reyna.**

 **Lastly: all reviews are very much appreciated, they do wonders to my ego, mood, ... and more importantly for you, it make clear which parts are good and which require more work and more or less attention. Please don't simply write spelling or something like that, I do what I can but dyslectic, second language, ... (see first chapter)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the novels, if I did I would be older, richer, ...**

* * *

The morning past Persephone's arrival in camp Jupiter.

"Right," Persephone muttered whilst walking towards the gathered ranks from her own century. She resisted the impulse to swear when she noticed the eyes of most.

She ignored her current optio, a boy named Dove for now. The boy had been appointed by her predecessor Winchester and she had no indication about any of his skills or qualities. Still, if her predecessor was any indication of his lieutenant than she suspected she would be dismissing him before the week had ended. Winchester had been a bully and fool, who had made no attempt to take properly care of the century entrusted to him and quite possible corrupt. She doubted Dove was unaware of that, especially since he had been a friend of Winchester for quite some time, according to Hazel.

Still, it wouldn't do to dismiss him upon the first day without having someone capable ready to replace him. Who knows, maybe he even gave her a proper reason to have him keep the post. She was surprised she could keep herself from snorting outright at the thought.

She knew Nico and few other people sat at the edge of the field of Mars, watching her. She had already recognised some of them as the other centurions of the Fifth and she suspected most of the others would either be other members of the Fifth or Centurions who were trying to judge her beyond her skills with the sword.

"All eyes on me!" Persephone ordered with a calm voice, hiding her aversion of standing in the spotlight.

"I suspect everyone of you remembers me from yesterday, but for those who don't I am your new Centurion Persephone Jackson, the daughter of Juno."

She kept marching in front of the formation at the moment not bothering to look them in the eyes.

"I am not a woman who minces words, so I'll be blunt, as you are now most of you are going to die." She told them without so much as a hint of pity.

A frightened muttering rose from the formation, which this time succeeded in making Persephone point her eyes at the line of demigods.

"Hold your tongues." She ordered them whilst making riptide appear in her hand.

She pointed the blade at the exit of the camp, half hidden behind the palisade.

"There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of monsters in the world and I know few of them who desire anything else but to kill and eat Demigods." She continued whilst she kept walking in front of the formation.

"If you go up against them, you..will...die." Persephone continued. "A damn shame too, since most monsters I know of can be killed by one or a few determined demigods."

She smiled. "I know, since I killed more than a few of those creatures."

"But you won't be killing them, do you know why?" Persephone asked them and without waiting for an answer from the small mob in front of her, she answered her own question.

"Because you're such a pathetic group of children rather than demigod warriors!" She told them, starting off whispering but ending up screaming.

"I've been under Lupa's care for months." Persephone continued speaking just as calmly as before she ended up yelling. "She told me about the legion, went on and on about the prowess of Rome's warrior. You could hear the pride in her voice when she spoke about the legionaries whom she had cared for, see the fondness in her eyes when she recalled some of them." Persephone closed her eyes for a moment. "I trained so hard to match up to her expectations." At this point Persephone showed a bitter smile."

"This is what I found." She whispered, than she yelled at them. "She saw something in each and every one of you, which allowed you to pass her training at the time. What happened to you? Do you really believe you would pass it again?"

At this point most of the legionaries seemed to look down, obviously ashamed, some of them were clenching their teeth hard. It made Persephone almost smile fondly, obviously most of the legionaries hadn't sunk so low that they lost that much of their pride and the affection they had once held for Lupa. The fact that over ten of the men seemed rather uncaring, was rather disturbing though.

"Do you remember Lupa's code?" Persephone asked them with a loud voice. "When was the last time you recalled it? When was the last time you acted according to it?"

"Protect your pack!" She began, knowing that it had been a long time since most of them had been part of a pack.

"Show no fear!" She continued, almost capable of smelling the fear which was deeply ingrained in the Fifth.

"Respect your elders!" Considering the centurions, it was rather clear that most of them held little respect for the post which was supposed be the goal for their best.

"Teach the young!" She and everyone else knew the training of the Fifth had been poor at best, a lacklustre which was little more than an excuse to retain the name of legionary for most members. What few warriors there were in the Fifth had mostly become so due their own efforts and that of close friends and family.

"Lead your companions!" The first voice fell in, a young velite, the fourteen years old girl with red highlights in her dark hair, whose bright smile had attracted her attention yesterday was the first of the century to raise her head.

"Survive each day!" Now the three girl who had stood with her, each of them a sixteen years old joined her.

"Hunt your enemies!" The three strawberry blond siblings who with Hazel formed half of the cohorts horsemen raised their voice as well, the eagerness in their voice obvious.

"Howl to tomorrow in challenge!" The voices of the two scared velites of yesterday were noticeable above all others.

"Adapt to the environment!" More legionaries joined in with the small group.

"Demonstrate no weakness!" yelled other legionaries, instantly doubling the number of legionaries who chanted with Persephone.

"Never back down!" Hazel said, almost whispered, but still she spoke up and she suspected that her brother somehow knew of her words.

"And always leave your mark!" Frank, among some others, added to the group in almost questioning voice.

"So you still remember the words." Persephone whispered, now sporting a weary smile. "Then Lupa might have seen something like a legionary inside all of you, after all."

She paused for a moment, catching her breath.

"As it is now, we're seen as nothing but the dregs of the legion." She continued softly with a small voice. "What has the Fifth done so far that contradicts this, what has it been but a sieve for those who fight to reach another cohort or to give up and lay themselves down, to numb to care?"

"Sad enough, barely a thing." Persephone continued, raising her unarmed hand up and clenching it in a fist. "Some of this can be blamed upon you, but how much wasn't? How much was simply forced upon you, caused by nothing but a lack of influential family or riches? How many of you once tried to reach out only to be ignored? How many of you saw your entire world fall apart, only to be stamped even deeper in the dirt and ashes? How many were hurt with words and actions for the number five of your cohort? How many of you?"

Persephone raised her head up angrily. "Hasn't it gone on long enough? To be judged for faults that weren't your own to start with! To be insulted and discriminated for no other reason than to make themselves feel taller!"

"There is a moment when you have to say enough and every other reply becomes cowardice." Persephone continued, all the while having every member of the Fifth listen to her with a feverish intensity.

"No more." Persephone whispered. "Hear me now, no more."

"Today," she whispered with clenched teeth. "Today is the day the Fifth stopped feeling ashamed for what happened in the past. Today is the day we reach for glory once more." Persephone said, but when she continued she was roaring. "Today is the day when Fifth began it's rise to top of the legion!"

She raised her clenched fist and pointed to sky, immediately followed by a single motion going through the entire formation, that of numerous pila raised to sky before landing with a thud upon the earth.

"Some of you might believe it is impossible now and many more will tell you it is. But you've been at the bottom now, stamped in the dirt and trampled upon like a worm." She yelled, whilst lowering her fist again and demonstratively pointing her sword down. "Is there anyone of you who believes that it can get anything but better?"

Persephone chuckled softly.

"Look around you, people." She said. "These are the faces of the other members of the Fifth cohort, not your competition. These are the people who will stand beside you during the battle, the comrades who will cover your unprotected flank and will help you kill your enemies. Isn't it time everyone remembers that."

She sighed. "It has been to long since the Fifth stood its own ground, to long since it became perceived as a dead weight to the others only to actually become ballast. When was it that Fifth stopped fighting and learned to hide behind the backs of the other cohorts when threatened by monsters only to be beaten until it became numb whenever the other cohorts desired so."

A growl came from the ranks of legionaries, indicating both the anger and the shame of the teens which made Persephone grin. "All of that stops now! From this day on, we prepare to fight!"

"There will be no more hiding, no more cowering, no more self-pity or selfish regrets!" She yelled. "From this day on, we prepare to see our enemies fall, we will stand tall knowing that we can stand upon our own and no one, and I mean no one will ever dare to question our value again."

Persephone took a deep breath and everything stayed silent for a moment, then a first demigod roared in agreement, instantly the rest of the century followed.

"What are you?" Persephone yelled once the roaring of the century died down.

It remained silent for another moment, obviously the legionaries were just waiting for her to precede them, even so everyone of them had some indication of the answer.

"You are Roman legionaries! You are the Fifth cohort! And what do you bring?"

Another silence followed, but this time all of them were waiting with a grin, eager for the answer.

"Tartarus to the enemies of Rome."

There was a scraping metallic sound and then she raised her sword high to sky, immediately imitated by eighty pila whose owners roared in agreement.

Persephone smiled. For the first time since long, a century of the Fifth had realised they were legionaries who were part of cohort that was expected to fight. And accompanied by this knowledge came the desire to keep their head up.

"Centurion Persephone Jackson! Centurion Persephone Jackson!" Chanted her century now, making the smile broaden and her battle herself to keep the blush she felt creeping to her cheeks from showing.

"Her century," She liked those words more than she had imagined she would.

Persephone did not doubt that most effects from her words would disappear in a couple of days or even hours, still it was heartening to see what a few words could do. It didn't fool her into believing that everything would come easy though.

* * *

Persephone stared at the brawling century with a hint of disbelief.

She was torn between being pleased with the skill of some members, and pure exasperation about the utter lack of coordination between the different parts of the century. She had no idée what was sadder, the fact that Dove had proven himself and by extension the (very) former centurion Winchester as utterly useless or the fact that this was only a single century and that she still intended to reform the entire cohort. She began suspecting that she would be fraying her nerves to the utter limit with everything she would need to do.

At the very least it meant she was now certain about getting rid of Dove before the week ended.

She swore when she noticed some legionaries, who were trying to improve their strength and endurance by carrying heavy poles, although wooden pillars might be a more accurate description, move towards the targets of some velites practicing their slings and bows.

Running between fighting pairs, Persephone crossed the terrain quickly, seemingly unhindered by her mail and the heavy shield she had slung across her back. She was just in time to drag the first legionary away from the target before he actually stood in front of the archer. Luckily for him and her, the archer and his neighbour had noticed his presence in time and lowered their bows until the legionary was dragged away.

She gave the boy, who had reddened both due to exhaustion and embarrassment, a nod before glaring angrily at Dove. Her annoyance with the teen was growing even worse when he seemed to turn his back at her first before turning around and running towards the two at them, paying no more attention at the teens who were practicing there.

"Was the kid that incompetent or simply trying to rattle her chains?" Persephone thought wondering, although she decided to change her dismissal of Dove from after a week to tomorrow.

She grinded her teeth together when she heard Dove insult the legionary, but since it was nothing overtly bad, she decided to ignore it for a second, instead she raced back to her end of the terrain to aid a few swordsmen.

She kept running around, unable to train herself but instead aiding and instructing the members of her century.

It hadn't taken long before the first flaws of her century revealed themselves.

Apart from very little coordination between the different parts, most legionaries had seemingly focused upon one or two parts of the training and offered the others only the barest amount of attention. As a result, most knew the instructed motions of wielding a sword and shield like the back of their hand, however these were designed to be used by groups of legionaries working closely together. Their inability to work together meant that breaking the formation was almost ridiculously easy and slaughtering the individual legionaries would be child's play afterwards. Luckily this was something which could be corrected without much difficulties although it might take some time.

Their use of their javelins otherwise was a massive problem, apart from the velites, the only time one of them even came close to the inner circle of the targets was when the javelin struck the target from his neighbour! It was an almost painful reminder to her own legendary lack of skill with a bow. Up to date she was the only person who ever had the other practitioners hide **behind** her target rather than get away from it. The sad thing was, even she had been forced to admit there was a (very) small core of truth behind their reasoning.

Wisely deciding to keep as far from bows as possible, Persephone had continued overseeing the exercises.

Endurance was on average pretty good although it didn't went half as far as she would have desired for a team of demigods which would be released upon the world. Still there was a proper basis to work with.

Strength was a bigger problem. Unfortunately this was especially the case for a few female members of the cohort. Whilst it wasn't as if the male side went scot-free, possibly due to peer pressure or simply a desire to show off there was at the very least a proper basis to improve, this was a bit rarer on the female side. On the other hand there was at least one girl who due to her rumoured inheritance blew all expectations away. Yang Xiao Long, who was suspected to be the daughter of Hercules, since contrary to the promise she had elicited from the major Greek gods, at least a part of the Roman minor-gods had felt themselves above the promise to the Greek demigoddess and apart from that, she suspected that most of the Gods had decided to fulfil her wish with their customary promptness.

Persephone decided keep her distance from the girl for now. Even knowing Jason's status as a ward of her Mother, she had instinctively bristled when she saw him due to Zoë's memory of Heracles. Yang, resembled her father even more than Heracles's half-brother did. Both were tall, muscled with an impressive chest and extremely attractive. Yang's long blond hair even seemed to resemble the golden mane of the Nemean Lion which her father had slain so long ago. Not unlike what she knew of the former Demigod, Yang was likewise loud, rather arrogant and passionate, which could be interpreted as almost extremely impetuous. Still, from what Hazel had told her and what she observed herself, the girl was almost equally cheerful and showed an obvious affection for the three girls who she was currently working with.

Persephone decided to leave that situation for what it was for now. As much as she (as well as her mother) utterly loathed Heracles, her dislike of Ares had been rather well known as well and it hadn't withheld her from finding a great friend in Clarisse. As long as the daughter of Hercules felt no inclination to continue her parent's grudge, the daughter of Juno would do the same.

Still from what she had observed so far there was a basis she could form into a force which would make every horde of monsters tremble. However considering that most members of the cohort had been members of the camp for several years, this was far from impressive.

Among the eighty members of her century, she had noticed several small groups of demigods who stood out amidst the others for their much greater skill. Undoubtedly most of these had originally desired to move out of the Fifth to another cohort. Yang and her friends were the most obvious of these. Each of the four girls had clearly spend years tempering their skills until they reached their current level. Yang was obviously the powerhouse of the four and even for someone who never used a computer for anything but rather basic internet, the word tank instantly jumped to the front of Persephone's mind.

Weiss, the other legionary, was Yang's opposite in virtually every way. Cold, haughty, beautiful, highly intelligent, with a hare-trigger temper and a sword wielder who brandished her gladius with the accuracy of a scalpel whilst Yang swung hers with a combination of brute force, instinct and a bone crushing impact as a courtesy from a knuckle-duster which she had added to the hilt of her weapon. Considering Weiss Schnee had obviously been born in the lap of luxury, but without any characteristic which seemed to limit her own ambition, it had baffled Persephone for a while why the girl served in the Fifth. Then she found out the (still unconfirmed) rumour that Weiss was one of the extremely rare daughters of Khione. Her mother's reputation and the rumoured curse upon her daughters aside had instantly made the other centurions dump her in the Fifth. Whilst Weiss had inherited her mother's pale skin and haughty looking beauty, she most likely from her father sported a pair bright blue eyes and bright blond hair that could even be called white. Not unlike a certain demigod she once knew, she had a large scar which covered part of her left-eye.

Blake Belladonna (not Bellona) was the third member of their little group. Like Yang and Weiss, she was sixteen years old. The daughter of Mercury was a rather standoffish girl who at times appeared no less haughty than Weiss, although she was supposed to be in better in controlling her own temper. Like the other member of the little troupe, Blake was more than merely attractive considering her long dark hair and the catlike elegance she moved with. Like the fourth and youngest member of their little party, the fourteen years old Ruby Rose, Blake was a velite who resembled her father in scarcely a single physical aspect. Furthermore Blake was an agile, inventive fighter who depending upon the situation either wielded a whip, gladius, spatha or a combination of those three, apart from a sling.

The last member of the foursome, Ruby, was an established daughter of Vulcan and Yang's unofficial little sister, a courtesy from their shared time in an orphanage, where eventually Blake would join them and turn the duo into a trio. If Weiss and Blake had been spared the worst and most visible consequences of HDD and dyslexia, Ruby had inherited hers with a vengeance. The result was a rather petite, overly clingy, cookie-obsessed, adorable little ball of positive energy who just by her appearance could bring people in a good mood or fray their nerves beyond the edges of sanity. Although not resembling her father much qua looks, with her small, cute-ish build and dark, red-tipped hair, they were surprisingly similar in behaviour. Both were shy, not really accustomed to interaction with others and with a fascination for weaponry (although Vulcan's interest went far beyond that branch of mechanics and ironwork) which typified them to others. Like Blake Ruby served as a velite, employing a quick, agile and extremely unroman way of fighting which could have been stolen from Blake's father. Her current weapons of preference were a rather short spear and a homemade crossbow which allowed her a baffling amount of power and accuracy.

The second group of promising warriors existed out a pair of blond, rather heavily scarred siblings from around her age. These two boys, Edwin and Arthur Thompson were the sons of Camulos, a formerly Celtic war deity who had been adopted by the Romans after the conquest of Gallia. Both were physically fit, tall, with extraordinary broad shoulders and obviously experienced warriors who had gained their scars during their trip from Lupa to the camp when they had gotten caught up in some sort of private guerrilla-war between them and a "small" war band of Empousa. She had no doubt that if it hadn't been for the lack of status of their father, their seeming inability to accept discipline and just as importantly the fact that their mouth was at least as large as their muscles that they would have been either members of the Seventh or the First. Like Ruby and Blake both twins served as a velite which allowed them to fight with javelins, spear and spatha not unlike the auxiliaries of old.

Lastly there were the descendants of Epona, another formerly Celtic war-deity, Arian, Philip and Rose Marshall. Persephone had found that quite a few of the 5th were descendant of what she tactfully dubbed non-traditional Roman deities. Both boys were twins like the Thompsons, and were bit over a year younger then Persephone whilst their sister was seventeen or even a bit older. Each of the three had a lean build with a pale skin and rather bright red hair. For obvious reasons, all three loathed every comparison to a candle which somehow reduced their already short fuse to the point that it went from short to nearly non-existent. Once she heard that, Persephone required no more reasons to explain why they had been dumped into Fifth rather than put in a cohort were such obviously battle-oriented siblings belonged. All three siblings were horsemen, together with Hazel they formed a good half of the cohort's horsemen.

Each of the three was equipped like a regular horsemen if it wouldn't have been for the torque around their neck and the obviously Greek styled bronze cuirass of Arian. When she would ask him about the item in question a couple of days later, he would claim to have inherited from their grandfather, the original son of Epona who "found" it during a quest. Persephone would decide that she might prefer not to know the exact circumstances of the discovery. Why he wore it? The hauberk given after his admittance had been of same quality as the one quartermaster had offered her at first and he preferred taking an antique from his grandfather over giving in to the bastard. To her own lack of surprise Winchester had refused to take care of the problem during his run as centurion. Arian refused her offer of demanding a proper hauberk for him though.

Lastly there was Hazel who was, even speaking as a former daughter of Poseidon, possibly the best horseman whom she had ever seen or would see, and Frank who showed a skill as an archer that was utterly baffling. The only archers apart from Lady Artemis herself whom she figured a better marksman than Frank were her hunters whom she had personally blessed and who most often had several centuries of practice or some of the Children of Apollo who had been blessed by their father, in what she suspected was as much an attempt to annoy his sister as it was a way to help and support his children.

Still, since both were the only members of the cohort who were an even more recent member than herself, neither Hazel nor Frank was brilliant outside of his or her niche. More importantly, unlike her, both lacked the ease with which Persephone ordered people around and the self-assured confidence she usually displayed. This meant that putting them at a position which even remotely reeked of authority would result in the same as pinning a target upon their back.

The other, previously mentioned demigods whilst excellently adjusted for combat were poorly prepared at best for a role as her optio or even a future role as centurion.

She sighed. Whilst from what she had seen so far, she couldn't exactly blame them for resenting authority this would be making her job that much harder. More importantly, she knew that a few proper trainers and officers could make a world of difference when, not if, dead found it's way to the camp.

Persephone shook her head before sneaking a quick look at her watch and returning her attention to the training century. Quarter to twelve, fifteen more minutes before dinner. She would be taking the worst equipped legionaries afterwards to the depot, forcing the quartermaster to give them some proper gear. She was almost hoping the prick was still in charge, just to watch him squirm when she forced him to scribble down in the books that their previous gear had been "lost in action", which meant the camp rather than the legionaries would be forced to pay for the new gear. The boy had already proven himself corrupt, she had no doubt he done the same for himself, his friends and maybe some more people who had been aware that it would have been cheaper to grease his palm rather than to pay the full fee... or maybe he wasn't that corrupt and simply liked to act like an ass to the Fifth whilst swindling them. Either way, Juno's daughter felt no regrets for forcing the idiot into problems.

After that visit she would be initiating a very long march in full armour. Persephone didn't doubt that wouldn't be making her popular, but it might help to make some of their own deficiencies clear to the legionaries and after her little speech, she suspected that most would be feeling a bit too much pride to give up for now whilst otherwise they would have dropped themselves besides the road. More importantly, she hoped some previously hidden leadership skills would be revealed by some of her legionaries, have them try to support their comrades and keep the morale up. She really hoped some would show a bit of initiative because she needed a proper lieutenant to help her reform the century.

* * *

Frank stared angrily at the older, bronze armoured demigod in front of him. The teen was talking in an annoyingly cheerful voice with his brother, showing scarcely a single sign of exhaustion whilst he himself was breathing like a drowned man who had just reached the surface of a pond. He felt the wooden fork which was weighed down by his full pack and a pair of wooden stakes (a pair of wooden stakes!) push the ringlets of his hauberk push into the flesh of shoulder. Hazel next to him was walking with her head held down, her otherwise curly hair stuck to her skin by her own sweat and whilst not as ragged as his own, her breath likewise indicated that she felt like throwing herself down upon the grass next to the road.

"And then the centurion looks at the Quartermaster and grasps one of those pugios from the rack and asks him with a sweet voice "Is there a problem?" before handing the dagger to Rose. And I swear that boy stared at her as if he was struck by lightning before running off in search of another set of Pteruges." Arian finished his story. "I mean she wasn't even sounding annoyed."

"Such enthusiasm. Is that bastard in love?" Philip asked mockingly. "With a member of the Fifth?"

Arian chuckled softly. " I doubt it, it was more as if he believed her Saturn returned from Tartarus, rather than Venus reincarnated. He ran surprisingly fast though."

"Guess he saw her fight." Frank thought only half listening, breathing was something which required most of his attention at the moment.

"If you have the breath, than perhaps you would like to follow his example and start moving a bit faster, rather than to waste it with pointless chatter." Replied a cold sounding voice from before them.

Raising his head a bit, Frank recognised Persephone who looked no more tired than the two descendants of Epona in front of him.

"And you two, what are you? Ninety?" Persephone said pointing her eyes upon Frank and Hazel. "Stop moving like a grandmother who's about to break a hip!"

"Easy for you to say!" was what Frank had wanted to grumble at her. Winchester had liked to do something similar during the few long marches in full armour they had been forced to endure upon the orders of the praetors. Running along the column, shouting insults and occasionally hitting someone with his stick. He suspected that teen had loved it despite the exertion he himself was forced to endure.

However, unlike Winchester, Persephone was running up-and-down the column in full equipment and with the same load hanging from her wooden fork as the legionaries. More importantly, unlike Winchester, Persephone's words and insults seemed more aimed at poking the slower or lazier members to a greater haste, rather than to add insult to exhaustion. Likewise it helped that she had only used her stick at two occasions: when Dove had tried to push his burden upon one of the legionaries and when one of the older, bigger legionaries had tried to bully one of the younger legionaries into giving him his flask with water. Seeing the optio chased down by their centurion had been a heart-warming thing.

"Don't laugh you two," she told the descendants of Epona, "walking like a couple of old men isn't going to save you when you've got a bunch of monsters on your tail, they'll just eat the grannies first before chasing you two down with a full belly, rather than an empty one!"

Frank couldn't help but smile for a moment, his exhaustion forgotten as if he had found his third breath. Then it returned, the remains of his second breath now feeling awfully thin.

* * *

"Keep walking!" Persephone ordered the demigods. "Don't throw yourself down upon the grass, you idiots! Remember to keep breathing! Unclench your fist, it impedes the flow of the blood!"

She slapped an energy drink out of the hand of another demigod. "Drink water you idiot, do you wanne overheat? You think a coma will get you out of training? Think again!"

Persephone checked her watch. "You have three quarter of an hour before supper!" she told them. "Use those to refresh yourself and take care of your gear! We have jobs to do afterwards."

A loud groan erupted from the mob of people who were obviously feeling exhausted.

"Less complaining, more stretching!" She yelled in return, whilst massaging the calves of her legs.

She shook her head. Her initial conclusion seemed to have been spot on. It was quite obvious that most demigods hadn't been pushed to their limits in a long time, not to mention the fact that there was a quite some variation about where those limits lay.

On another note, she was rather disappointed about the lack of camaraderie between them. Some demigods had been helping their friends and quite enthusiastically too but not anyone else. Stronger demigods had been taunting the weaker, had been trying to bully them or tried to take advantage from them.

Seeing the first demigods leave she checked her own limbs and when everything felt supple enough she turned around and left for her own private room in the barracks, a courtesy of her rank.

The only bright spot was that those taunts had helped those weaker demigods push themselves a bit further. Pride and anger were a great thing when employed correctly.

"You're not going easy on them, even at your first day?" A voice coming from behind her asked her.

Persephone chuckled in reply.

"Would you have wanted or expected me to, Nico?" She asked him return.

Nico replied with a chuckle of his own.

"How tired are you?" he asked her after the short laugh.

"No less than they are." She replied.

"I remember your training of me." Nico told her, he chuckled again for a moment. "I don't believe I ever hated someone who wasn't a huntress, a titan or a God that much."

"It helped you survive." Persephone replied curtly.

"And I couldn't be more grateful for that." Nico said, before showing a small smirk. "After the training. I am pretty certain I begged for dead several times during your boot-camp though."

"Let them hate me, as long as they survive me." Persephone muttered.

Nico raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Peace, Persephone. I am not here to judge one of the few people I care about."

Persphone sighed. "I know, I would have already left if you did."

Nico nodded. "For what it is worth, seeing my sister reach your standards will be an immense reassurance."

"I know that, Nico. Thank you for that." Persephone replied, she hesitated for a moment and looked around for anyone seeing her, than she pushed her back against the nearest building and leaned back.

"That tired, hmm." Nico noticed, making her nod in return.

"What are you afraid of?" He asked her.

"A great many things." She whispered in return, not trying to keep the dark edge out of her voice.

Persephone shook her head for a moment.

"You think the war is over?" She asked him.

"Most Titans are back into Tartarus," Nico reminded her, than he nodded. "but a great deal of monsters aren't."

"Indeed." Persephone admitted. "And the Fifth is woefully unprepared for anything dangerous, if they for whatever reason get into harm's way,"

"It will become a massacre." Nico finished. "Like I said, thank you for taking care of Hazel."

Both paused for a moment. "Do you expect something to happen in a short while?" He asked her curiously, careful not to sound accusing.

Persephone shook her head. "I have no reason for it, but it has been rather calm for months. But after hearing Rachel spout that prophecy." She sighed for a moment and brushed a hand through her tousled hair. "I can't help but feel as if dark clouds have gathering all this time and the moment the first raindrop falls down.."

"We'll be lost at sea and miles away from safety whilst the Fates unleash the biggest storm of the millennia." Nico finished again.

He sighed. "I'd wish I could call you cynic or a pessimist, but considering what we know of Nemesis and the Fates, it is most likely an understatement. Who knows how long before the prophecy starts fulfilling itself? It might be centuries, or merely hours."

"You understand why I am so eager to get the 5th up to proper standards? Knowing those bitches, you, me and your sister will be in the centre of it all with what are now considered the dredges of the legion!"

Nico nodded again. "I'll see if I can scrounge up some Stygian iron for the legion." He muttered. "It might help you a bit."

"Appreciated, Nico."

"You're welcome." He muttered before slapping his arm around her and allowing her to lean upon him. "Let's get you to your room." He told her. "Where you can take a shower, you reek."

Persephone chuckled for a moment and leaned a bit more upon the boy, rubbing some more of her sweat upon him. Nico simply endured it, well aware that little bit of teasing would end as soon as a legionary came in sight.

* * *

Persephone's room was the first chamber of the Fifth's barracks. Whilst other rooms contained usually between three and four bunk beds as well as a pair of showers, washbasins and some desks, as well as a large trunk and a closet for every legionary. Hers was solely for herself, the privacy as much a luxury as the much larger amount of space. Considering the amount of time she had spend in the camp so far, her room contained little more than what had belonged to the camp. This was a single bed, a small nightstand, the same closet as the others, but a much larger desk as well as a couch and several more chairs.

Unlike the greater amount of space, these objects were not so much an indication of luxury as well as pure necessity since centurions were not only expected to do a certain amount of paperwork (punishment, orders, keeping a log, complains, replacements, trips out of the camp...) but they were also expected to be accessible for their legionaries to solve all those problems, relay information to their superior, settle disputes and even give advice (She was not looking forward to explain to a young teen why she was feeling those cramps).

Like her legionaries she too had a small bathroom, although hers was a bit more spacious than theirs.

Once inside the cabin, Persephone grabbed instantly another shirt and a pair of leggings as well as some underwear before setting off to the shower, closing the door to the bathroom behind her.

Well aware of the fact that Hazel would be in no condition to talk to him at the moment, Nico decided to settle down upon the sofa. Persephone had only added a few decorations so far.

The most obvious ones were a pair of posters, which he suspected had been returned to her by Juno, most likely due to Argus before Persephone joined the Romans.

The first one was dominated by a tall and beautiful, but most definitely proud looking woman in a combination leather and mail armour and golden crown upon her brow. With her hands resting upon the hilt of a sword, the woman could easily pass off as an Amazonian queen.

At the bottom of the picture, in two pale white lines stood a single sentence: _Leave that princess in her tower, look for the queen who will fight by your side instead!_

He had no idée where she had found that poster, but the picture had adorned the wall of Persephone's cabin for as long as he knew her.

The second picture hadn't, but it was too fitting to not be created by Juno for her daughter.

It contained a powerful looking female warrior upon what he guessed where the remains of a battlefield, however whilst the contours were easily detectable the picture was to dark and murky to notice a large number of the finer details. Again, a set of two white lines, heavily contrasting against the dark colours, adorned the bottom with a message: _Be that kind of person that when she wakes up and her feet hit the ground, even Saturn looks up in fright and says "Fuck, she's awake!"_

Nico chuckled softly. It was quite obvious that Juno held a lot of affection and pride for her adopted daughter, far more than he ever had expected the queen to do. He shook his head. Perhaps she was not unlike his father in some regards, a victim of a few bad or at the very least poorly explained decisions and a very bad press.

The only other decorations stood upon her nightcabinet, these were six statues of varying seize and materials. The first was small statue of Vesta made of pale marble. The goddess was depicted as an attractive woman who kept her hair tucked away under a shawl. Like the goddess in question, the statue would have seemed utterly unremarkable, if it wasn't for the small flames that were dancing in the sockets of her eyes. Next to her stood a statue of Venus who was depicted as a dancer, in the middle of a performance, surrounded by doves and swans. Behind Vesta stood Diana, a young maiden with a bow, who was reaching for an arrow from the quiver upon her back. A small deer lay next to the goddess of the hunt, curiously the animal had rested its head against Diana's hip as if it was seeking protection, rather than feeling threatened by the huntress. Nico blinked for a moment when he discovered what looked like a second, smaller version of Diana next to the Goddess. He reached carefully for the smaller statue, unlike the previous statues which had been made from marble, this one was mostly made of dark copper with small dots of silver which reminded him a bit of stars in a rather clear night. Keeping it closer to him, he also noticed a small silver tiara which had been carefully placed upon the girl's head. He wondered for a few moments who this statue represented. Selene? He dismissed the thought immediately, as far as he knew that titan had faded and even if she hadn't, Persephone had never mentioned her knowing the titan, nor her having a particular affection for the former lady of the moon. Still it was quite obvious it had a reason it stood there, considering Persephone had obviously spend quite some time into adjusting the statue to her liking.

Mars was the next Olympian who was represented in Persephone's little pantheon. He was depicted as a Roman centurion, his sword already raised in triumph. Nico decided to spend little attention to him, whilst he held no grudge against Ares like Persephone and had even less problems with his Roman counterpart, he disliked the feeling of anger that seemed to be radiated by the not even a foot high depiction of the God of War. Taking his attention away from the statue of black basalt. He shifted his attention to second but last statue or rather figurine.

Pluto or Hades, was looking rather horribly out of place amongst the antique looking statues. The pale skinned figure had long black hair and a beard which both looked as if they hadn't been combed or had met with a razor in the last century, unlike his real father's appearance. Whilst whoever had picked the tunic and toga for the figurine before it went in production had obviously been utterly unaware of what was Greek and what Roman, on top of all that the idiot had decided that as a God of the underworld Hades was supposed to look as if he stole the clothes of the corpses he was supposed to rule. Truthfully when he had met his father for the first time, Nico had felt some relief that he hadn't taken the figurine with him. He might have quited the game, he still felt some nostalgic affection for what had once been his passion and he doubted anyone needed a furious Hades and his undead armies rising from the underworld to smite the designers of the card- and boardgame in revenge for the unintended insult. Still, he would admit he was almost pleased that most of the paint had faded away, which left mostly pale plastic behind. It was a much more soothing image than the painted monstrosity. Nico loathed the figurine for what it had cost him and he would have preferred to see it burned in whatever fire could melt it. Still he could understand that Persephone had kept it for exactly the same reason. A small weight in the hand, but a massive weight upon her heart.

The last statue was the largest and obviously the most expensive one. A foot high statue of Juno with all her godly regalia seated upon a throne made from ivory and gold. He could easily see the appeal of this depiction to Persephone :the proud and rather warlike looking goddess upon her throne, who despite her obvious power looked likewise encumbered by numerous invisible weights, her responsibilities. He sighed, mother and adopted daughter were rather similar in that regard, he supposed.

He had no doubt that it was without reason that Persephone had placed Juno a bit away from the others but in an obvious position of honour. Her own way of depicting her vision of what happened.

Nico shook his head. He guessed it would be best if he invited Persephone to eat with him, Hazel and that boy she kept hanging out with. After that first day of training, he doubted she would be getting much invitations otherwise.

He chuckled. After all the trouble Persephone had gone through at the camp to make certain he had some social contact, it was up to him to do the same for her. No doubt about it, the Fates loved irony.

* * *

 **Who do you think the second Diana represents?**

 **And yes, it is not some random thing that will be without an impact upon the story.**

 **Please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Daughter of Juno, Leader of Demigods chapter 6**

 **Right, This chapter was absolutely the most difficult thing to write in a very long time (with the exception of my master paper). Unfortunately the past months made writing more difficult than I expected. A particularly heavy case of writer's block, a lot less free time than initially assumed, an injured hand, the constant heat... sigh let us just say I rarely found myself so often annoyed with August (not going to say September too, I always hated that month). Still, those of you who cursed me for not updating in time, you're right.**

 **Also, in the past two months there has been a total from around 2000 individual readers for this story and nearly ten thousand readers since the day I uploaded this story, to everyone who read it, my thanks.**

 **Now back to business, people have been asking me about Persephone's gifts more specifically what she retained from Poseidon and what she gained from Juno's adoption. Something I kept mostly in the dark about because I wasn't overly certain about the nature, number and power of these gifts. I am pretty content with what I came up though and I doubt I'll be adding something in the short term. (It was never my intention to make her power through all kind of opposition due to her parents blessing**

 **To those who're interested: here's a list and explanation.**

 **Legacy of Poseidon**

 _ **Persephone retained only her experience with these powers. This means for example that whilst she is no longer able to talk to a horse, she is still able to recognise and interpret the motions of the animal's head, the way it moves and the way it neighs. She's basically the perfect Horse whisperer. Likewise she is still an excellent swimmer, sailor, ... and although for obvious reasons unwilling to exploit these skills at the moment, she's still an authority on most activities with relation to water. (If she tells to keep inside the port because it is going to storm, you best keep inside because a tempest will be on the move)**_

 _ **Contrary to these examples, her more spectacular abilities are entirely gone and have left no real trace behind. Whether it is resistance to fire, the ability to gain healing from water and to control it like an extension from her will, the possibility to create hurricanes ad random, influence ice, dominate poison, ... that's all gone. There is no longer any supernatural way for Persephone to defend herself, nor did she retain any of the invulnerabilities.**_

 **Adopted Daughter of Juno**

 _ **The gifts are mostly based upon my interpretation of Juno's character and the dual nature of her domains. Therefore these are gifts which fit Persephone and which Juno herself would use and approve of rather than the collection of abilities on the Riordanwikia. Considering Juno's nature these are more a support of already present abilities and skills rather than something entirely new and overpowering. (For example, don't mistake a mother's image for charmspeaking, it is way more subtle and less overpowering).**_

 _ **Le coup d'oeil (translation "The glance of the eye"):**_ **The ability to instantly recognise the opportunities of the terrain and by extension other advantages and disadvantages as well. Someone blessed with this ability is capable of recognising flaws, virtues and fears in one's character with an almost frightening ease, how one deals with the opportunities granted by this depends on the morals of the blessed.**

 _ **A Mother's Image**_ **: like her adopted mother, Persephone gives a motherly vibe off which can be used to soothe fears and calm rage, whilst allowing her words to contain a bit of extra persuasion. By extension Persephone seems more accessible, allowing those who might otherwise hesitate to approach her, to come to her and talk with her about their troubles. An unfortunate side-effect is that due to the age of most campers, plenty of them might be feeling rebellious or rude without a proper reason. Still, most of them will feel bad about it, ...afterwards.**

 _ **Royal appearance**_ **: In contrast to Juno's role as the Goddess of Motherhood (and Marriage), she's the Queen of the Gods as well. Mirroring this role, Persephone can appear harsh and cold, with an uncaring or even sadistic attitude to the suffering of others. In this state she usually seems distant, not willing to bother with contacting "those beneath her" more than strictly necessary (or at least it is perceived as such by them) and can be considered even more intimidating than otherwise. Despite the anger and disdain she evokes when behaving as such, her words and actions whilst rarely popular and well received, are even less likely to be sneered at.**

 _ **(Warrior-)Madness**_ **: whilst forgotten by most, Juno/ Hera was one of the most eager and fiercest combatants in the wars against the Titans, Giants and even the second confrontation with Typhon. It is no coincidence that two of her children were the God and Goddess of war. Neither is the fact that her temper was known to drive even her husband into hiding. Whilst Madness was technically granted to Dionysus by Zeus as his own domain. Hera, her War-children and Aphrodite have a claim upon this as well due to their own affinities.** **This gift was birthed by a combination of Juno's blessing, the pain Persephone was forced through during the war and the months afterwards, as well as Persephone's already present warrior's skills and temper. Whether is a gift or curse remains to be seen, but at moments of extreme emotional and physical stress, Persephone can whip her anger into a madness until time, place and pain are left unremembered by the girl and only her goal of her opponent's violent dead remains a part of her thoughts. However much more valuable than this rare berserker-madness, is her ability to use her words and charisma to inspire a lesser madness in her followers.**

 **... (Note, this isn't what Jason witnessed.)**

* * *

"It was good to see you again, Nico." Hazel said, still sporting a small smile and a bit of affection in her eyes which told him she wasn't lying.

The pale teen couldn't help but return a small smile in gratitude.

"It was nice." He admitted, hesitating for a second. "I might be returning a few times in the coming weeks."

"I would like that." Hazel told him. Then the daughter of Pluto threw him a conspiratorially look. "I am certain Persephone would like that too."

Nico groaned in return. "Congratulations Hazel," he deadpanned, "you are exactly the two hundred forty-seventh person who made that joke."

He shook his head. "If anything she really is another sister, Hazel, don't even joke about that." He told her, whilst pretending as if he was about to vomit. For a single moment, some part of him wanted to tell her that they both were of the wrong gender to have an interest in each other. Then he pushed that urge ruthlessly away.

"Later," Nico told himself, "no need to burden her with that as well."

Several feet behind them, granting them a little bit of privacy, Persephone waited for their conversation to end. The girl cocked her head curiously and tensed her muscles preparing to create some more distance between them as fast as she could when she noticed Nico seemingly getting sick. But shrugged it away when nothing happened.

Next to her Frank was likewise waiting, staring at Persephone's arm which had split the four of them in two pairs after exiting the mess hall. She hadn't needed to open her mouth to make clear what she meant with that gesture, a quick glare had been sufficient.

"I'll be off then for now." Nico told them, now pointing his eyes at all three of them. "I still have some work to do for father."

He sighed and shook his head. "Checking the Fields, go over the list with the names of the latest dead," he paused and gave them a hint of a smile.

"Take the family pet for a walk..." Persephone interjected.

The image of Nico trying to hold Cerberus on a leash whilst urging the monster towards a lamppost promptly took a hold of Hazel's thoughts, making her giggle.

"Wipe that smile of your face." Nico fake grumbled in return, obviously having an idea of the cause of his half-sister's reaction.

Al it did was make Persephone chuckle as well.

Nico raised his eyes once more in mock-exasperation and then turned around walking towards a small alley between the buildings.

He raised one hand in a greeting without turning his head.

"Take care Hazel, Perce... Frank" he said.

"You do the same, Death Breath." Persephone replied.

For a single moment it seemed as if Nico would be walking between the walls, then as if it was water, the shadow seemed to ripple. Persephone saw the outline of Nico's figure shift for another moment and then the boy was gone.

Persephone pointed a finger in the direction of the barracks of the Fifth. "Off you go then." She said whilst taking the lead.

Taking quick, grand paces she left the pair quickly behind her and sighed.

"And back to business." She thought. "Her century would have another hour during which they were supposed to maintain their weapons and equipment or could otherwise occupy themselves."

Fortunately for herself, most of her own equipment was in order, so she could afford to spend a few more minutes away.

* * *

Even when darkened by the shadows of the clouds, Temple Hill was an impressive sight. However Persephone hadn't come to admire the marble monuments to the might of the Gods. Still she couldn't help to pause for a moment in front of one of the lesser temples. Neither did she withhold herself from smirking when Juno's adopted daughter noticed the state of her birthfather's temple. It was little more than a large tool shed. What little of the inside that she could see through the open doors and what wasn't hidden by the shadows was either covered with dust or cobwebs. She spotted a small stone altar only a few feet in front of the door, the bowl upon it was empty except for a few mouldy apples and curiously some brightly coloured stones, she assumed these were merely pieces of glass. Whilst at one point the wooden walls must have been painted bright blue, most of the paint had now been peeled off which gave the hovel an even more decrepit appearance than what bare walls would have done.

She chuckled for a moment and raised one of her swords in a mocking salute.

"To your honour, Neptune." She whispered, pronouncing the name with a notable hiss.

The sight of the temple had definitely lifted her spirits. However, she wasn't here for a God or Goddess, even if she was bound to spend some time in her mother's temple afterwards.

Instead she fixed her attention upon a small rucksack which had been left upon a bench in front of Venus's temple.

"Centurion Tanaka?" Persephone asked with a loud voice.

"Up here, hon." Replied a sultry sounding female voice from the side of pink marble temple.

Persephone pointed her head immediately in the direction of the voice and noticed a single girl sitting upon the stair-like plateaus which elevated the temple above the earth.

For a moment Persephone just stared at the girl who raised a single arm and pointed that at her, then she heard the quick fluttering sound of wings and a small, spotless white pigeon flew past Persephone's head before the animal quickly turned around and landed upon the back of the girl's outstretched hand.

Drew giggled softly, covering her mound with her spare hand before schooling her features and brushing a single finger over the head of the pigeon whilst making cooing sounds.

"You wanted to speak to me, in private?" The Asian looking daughter of Venus asked her whilst raising her head as if she only now had noticed Persephone.

Persephone paused for a moment, staring at the teen who allowed the dove to take off again and brushed her hand through the long, dark curls of her hair.

"I did." Persephone admitted before pointing at the stone slab next to Drew. "Mind if I take a seat?"

The centurion of the Fourth chuckled softly and then placed her hand upon the slab before demonstratively removing it. Persephone gave her a soft, gentle smile in return and seated herself next to her.

"I saw you fight in the arena." Drew told her. "You gave quite a show."

She shook her head for a moment. "I wouldn't have believed someone could've matched Jason if I didn't see it with my own eyes."

Persephone shot her another smile in return.

"Why did you ask Reyna to arrange this meeting, sweetie?" Drew asked her. "Wouldn't it be better if you kept to the centurions of your own cohort?"

"Because Reyna recommended you." Persephone told her, narrowing her eyes after the 'your own cohort-comment'.

"Was she mistaken?" Persephone continued, adopting a colder tone than she had intended earlier in the conversation.

"I see." Drew whispered lowering her eyes under Persephone's glare.

Drew paused for a moment. "Why did you ask her to meet with me?"

"You're a former member of the Fifth." Persephone began.

"Are you asking me to return?" Drew hissed immediately whilst aiming a glare at Persephone. Curiously, accompanying the change her in expression, Drew's eyes seemed to shift from a soft oceanic blue to a poisonous green as well. Her glare was met by Persephone's eyes again and the daughter of Venus cringed moments later. Persephone's eyes might have retained the soft brown colour of molten chocolate, they contained no more warmth than stygian iron and seemed just as hard.

"Sorry," Drew whispered instinctively whilst turning her head away, making Persephone's eyes soften a bit.

Drew leaned back against the wall.

"I don't doubt you already know how the Fifth is..." she paused for a moment and corrected herself. "was. I've worked too hard to get away from there! I am a centurion for a reason, I've earned everything I got!"

Drew blinked for a moment when she heard a soft chuckle and turned her head. Like herself Persephone had leaned back against the wall, with the difference that she supported her head with cupped hands.

"I know how the Fifth was and mostly is." Persephone said whilst staring of in the distance. "And I am aiming to change that!"

"Good for you." Drew replied. "But if you aren't here to recruit former members of the cohort, why did you ask me?"

"I asked for you because you are a centurion, and a former member of Fifth." Persephone told her.

She shrugged for a moment. "If some former members wanne return to the Fifth I doubt I'll be stopping them, but I won't be holding my breath either." Persephone continued. "I am not here to steal you away."

"But you want my help in some way, right?" Drew asked her. "That's why you're talking to me, is it not?"

"Indeed," Persephone whispered, more like sighed. "I'll be frank with you, Centurion Tanaka, ..."

"Drew, Sweetie." The centurion of the fourth cohort interrupted her. "I prefer my name over that Centurion-title."

Persephone shrugged. "Fine by me." She replied.

"What did Reyna tell you about me meeting you here?" Persephone asked the teen.

"Not much, just that she and Jason wanted me to help you with something. I was free to act how I saw fit."

"I see." Persephone said, realising that Reyna expected her to persuade the centurion of the Fourth.

"Tell me, how was the Fifth in your days, Drew? Did they fight in the war against the titans? Were they to be trusted or relied upon? Were they mocked by the other cohorts?"

Persephone snorted. "We both know the answer upon that question, don't we?"

She reached with her hand towards the shoulder of the other girl.

"Was it hard to get out of the Fifth?" Persephone asked her with a tired sounding voice.

Drew sighed. "You have no idée." She whispered. "It took me years filled with anger and annoyance, before they even contemplated letting me out."

Persephone noticed Drew gazing of in the distance. "And even then," Drew continued. "I doubt I would have made the jump before The Assault upon Othrys if I hadn't gained control of mother's gift."

"Do you remember the other's who made the jump?" Persephone asked her with a calm voice.

"Most of them." Drew told her casually.

"And those others who try to earn the title of legionary?" Persephone continued her questions.

"Some? Why?" Drew asked her in return.

"I take it you still remember the amount of extra effort you had to make, simply because of the number of your cohort?" Persephone continued, not changing her tone of voice.

"Yes," Drew told her, showing a first hint of annoyance.

"Then I'll also have no need to remind you about all those small annoyances, like broken straps or badly made equipment which afflicted the Fifth all the time." Persephone said obviously intent on reminding the girl.

She repressed a small smile, when she noticed the narrowing of Drew's eyes.

"No, absolutely no need." Drew began, before Persephone cut her off.

"Did you knew at least one Centurion of the Fifth was involved with the group which allowed them to unload that junk upon the Fifth?" Persephone asked her.

"What?" Drew almost screeched.

"You didn't then." Persephone remarked with that blasé voice. "We're still figuring out who and how long it went on, but it is quite likely that someone made quite a bit of money with that."

"Those bastards, ..." Drew muttered angrily, without a doubt remembering several examples from the past.

"Indeed. It seems like the situation is a bit worse than merely foul looks, muttered words and the worst jobs of the camp." Persephone told her, this time allowing some of her own annoyance to seep into her words.

"What do you want?" Drew asked her, with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Help." Persephone said to her. "We both know that the camp won't lift a single finger to help the Fifth if they can stamp them into the dust instead."

"You were lucky." Persephone continued. "You worked hard, certainly. But you were lucky and so were some others."

"And who's helping you?" Drew asked with obvious mockery in her voice. Despite that the other teen didn't miss that her eyes contained no trace of sadism.

Persephone raised her right hand up as if she was merely checking her nails.

"At the moment mainly me, Reyna and Nico." She said, ignoring Drew's snort. "Apart from them, there's Jason and with your help, several more former members of the Fifth."

"What kind of help do you expect?" Drew asked her.

"First of all, I'll need more time at the Fields of Mars, instructors and training equipment." Persephone told her." Persephone told her, sporting a smile since Drew had given up on pretending to have no interest.

Drew opened her mouth, but Persephone silenced her with a wave of her hand.

"I don't expect you to simply give me these things, Drew." Persephone told her. "If it were that simple, than Reyna would simply have done that and we wouldn't be going through this cloak-and-dagger-drama."

"Then what do you propose?"

"A trade, I have been told that such are not to unusual in the camp." Persephone began.

"Reyna and Jason are planning to install some defences along the bank of the little Tiber, as well as connect the city and Temple hill with earthen walls and with palisades to the encampment. Furthermore Reyna hopes to construct a stone gatehouse as well as reinforce the walls of the encampment with stone." Persephone told her.

Drew stared at her for a moment.

"That won't be happening." Drew said after a few moments. "The senate would throw a fit."

"To quote Reyna, Octavian would, the senate would simply repeat whatever line they said before the meeting began, no matter the relevance of said line." Persephone said, sounding more than a bit amused. Drew herself couldn't help but show a small smile after that.

"Still it won't be happening. The work would be too expensive, take too long and what use would it have for our defences?" Drew replied.

"What use?" Persephone asked her incredulously. "Apart from Caldecott tunnel and the Little Tiber what defences does the camp have?"

She raised her hand again. "Don't answer that question, Drew."

She shook her head. "This camp hasn't been attacked by a determinated enemy in a long time, hasn't it?" Persephone asked her.

"There hasn't been a monster army that stupid in a long time." Drew told her, sounding rather smug. "attack a few isolated demigods, yes, but confrontations which required more than a maniple are exceptionally rare. The war against the Titans was the only exception upon these."

Persephone sighed. "Conquer or die, hm?" She whispered. "It has been a long time since you were forced to defend your home, is it not?"

Drew stared at her for a moment, then she chuckled for a moment and reached for her backpack, revealing the hilt of her sword. "These are our walls." She said.

Persephone shook her head in return, mostly in amusement, but not without some exasperation.

"A nice answer." Persephone muttered. "A remarkable Greek answer, but a nice answer."

"Greek?" Drew asked her with a edge in her voice, raising a single eyebrow.

"Spartan." Persephone explained to her. "Either way, it matters not."

"Trust me on this, Drew." Persephone told her. "Unless Janus and the Pomerian line are lot more powerful than I have been let to believe, they won't stand a chance against a determined assault of the monsters. I know what I am talking about."

"Perhaps," Drew conceded, "but I doubt it will be necessary."

Persephone shrugged. She had more important things to do than to impress the importance of walls and other defences upon the daughter of Venus. "Still, that is not why it is important for the Fifth."

"Why is that, then?" Drew asked her.

"Because I suspect quite a few cohorts would be willing to dump the chores involved with those walls in the lap of another cohort." Persephone told her before smiling self-depreciating. "A useless job for a useless cohort, no?"

"That," she paused, "might actually work." Drew admitted. "Your idée?"

Persephone shook her head. "Reyna's. I suspect the girl is quite in love with the camp." Persephone smiled softly. "She certainly is not willing to lose it without starting the battle of the century."

Drew giggled for a moment. "That's Reyna. She's the kind of girl that would charge hell with a bucket of water."

"I imagine she would win too." Persephone added.

Drew shook her head. "I have a hard time imagining otherwise. It has a reason she's known as the hardest girl of the camp."

The teen kicked herself up and reached for her backpack. "What is the trade you propose for the entrenching?" Drew asked Persephone.

"Like I said some proper sword-, spear- and bow-men and –women to help me instruct, a few hours a week extra training upon the Fields, I suggest you take some of the less exerting tasks over for that, as well as a bit more access to training tools."

Drew shrugged. "Seems reasonable." She muttered.

"Two more things, Drew." Persephone told her, whilst laying a hand upon the teen's shoulder.

"One, I understand it if you and some more ex-members want to balance the scales a bit with your former cohort." Persephone told her whilst keeping her voice as friendly as possible. "You're only human after all."

Her eyes hardened instantly and so did her grip upon Drew's shoulder. It wasn't painful, but it gave a clear indication of the strength which was required to wield a heavy blade like a falcate. "But don't step over the line, they're still my unit."

Drew nodded. "Nothing over the top, got it, hon."

Persephone smiled happily in return.

"You are a bit bipolar, aren't you?"

Persephone chuckled. "If I was, do you really think that was an intelligent question to ask me?"

"Point taken." Drew deadpanned. "The next thing?"

"Take a bit more care not to charmspeak in such a conversation. It gives a poor impression once your victim regains his mind."

Drew instantly raised her hands in surrender. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. Sometimes, it just happens." She said rapidly.

Persephone simply chuckled again. "I thought so. No harm, no foul, no?"

Persephone placed her hand upon Drew's shoulder. "I know the problem, although Juno's inheritance is not as dominating as Venus."

"Did I really use charmspeak?" Drew asked her. "I mean, I noticed it tends to be less effective upon most other girls, but you gave no indication that I did."

"I've met your mother once." Persephone told her. "Trust me, I recognise that."

"About it being less effective upon me?" Persephone smiled sadly whilst pointing a single finger at a point between her breasts. "This is still broken, it would surprise me, if it wouldn't resist you or anyone else for that matter."

Drew lowered her head for a moment. "I had no intention to pry."

"I have greater secrets than the fact that my relationship status is updated from complicated to single." Persephone muttered. "Anything else?"

Drew seemed to think for a moment, than she shook her head.

"I'll be going then," Persephone continued. "Spend a few more minutes in mother's temple before heading back to the barracks."

* * *

Juno as a member of the Capitoline triad had a large temple devoted to her. It was an elegant building made of white marble of which the walls were surrounded by pillars which seemed to support the roof. The floors were adorned with mosaics from coloured stones which illustrated several phases of marriage, whilst the walls had been embellished with pictures of peacocks and cows. Lastly, against the rear wall, there stood several marble statues upon a platform. One six foot tall statue of Juno herself, then several other, smaller from her children. Vulcan, Mars, Bellona, Eileithyia and Juventas. If honest, whilst pleased with the obvious efforts the Roman's had made to honour her mother, she was rather disappointed. The temple might have been richly adorned, but it was simultaneously left bare of affection. It was as if someone had been given a lot of time and means, but who simultaneously had lacked inspiration and affection for the goddess. As if making it had been chore that had to be done, before a to-the-maker-more-important temple could be created.

She couldn't exactly claim she was surprised. Her mother was a strict Goddess who enjoyed a rather poor reputation and her title as Moneta didn't help, a warning is often bad news and bad news is rarely a welcome guest. Juno was not a popular goddess, only a respected one.

Entering the temple Persephone instantly went to the platform and reached for a small plate in which she placed a few apples before she sat down at the feet of goddess.

"Hey mother." Persephone began with a soft voice. "I survived the day." She paused for a moment and chuckled for a single second. "I think I'll be safe from now on, I am enough of a Roman."

"I am a centurion of the Fifth, but it is obvious they won't expect me to stay with the Fifth." Persephone paused for another moment. "I am not planning to act according to their idea with that. There might be a storm coming and the legion counts scarcely 5000 legionaries, more if we call a levy from the other citizens. But still, that's a tenth of the legion that's next to useless."

Persephone sighed. "I can easily remember a hundred times when I would have given my entire arm for close to five hundred warriors. If that storm arrives, I hope to have them prepared."

She smiled sadly. "I guess I am truly your daughter, Juno Sospitan (the saviouress), I can't help but try to save others whether they like me for it or not."

Persephone bowed her head. "For this they'll be hating me, mother. I don't know how much time I have so I'll have to be cruel, ruthless and drive them to the point they hit their limits and then harden them so much that they move past those limits. I am going to insult them, rob them of sleep and Gods, it might be months before they'll be hearing so much a proper compliment from me."

Persephone sighed. "I know you are aware of the reputation of the Fifth. But there are some proper warriors among them and most have already proven to me that they have some mettle, that they deserve the chance to be called a legionary."

She growled. "The truth is that the camp was hard upon them, not unlike the others were on me and eventually most of them simply broke under pressure."

"They deserve a chance and I'll be giving them that." She sighed. "But this will be a hard year for them. On top of the training I'll be having them dig trenches and creating ramparts until they'll be so sick of it, they're praying for a monster invasion."

"I have already some ideas for tournaments and competitions limited to the Fifth and my century to egg them on."

Persephone paused for a moment and reached for a rather small bowl filed with water upon which a lotus flower floated.

Reaching down, she scooped up some water which then slowly seeped through her fingers. "I also refined some of my plans for a field hospital and ambulances for the next war against the monsters." She smiled after those words. " Most of the changes are merely organizationally or a mixture of common sense and discipline, but I'd like to think that they would make a small dent in the amount of shrouds we will require in the next war."

"I haven't been able to check how the Roman's do these things, but I doubt they'll be much better than the others." Persephone continued. "I'd rather like the idea of that becoming my legacy. To be remembered more for the fact that I helped to save lives rather than merely because I am so good at ending them."

She opened her hand and allowed the water to fall down, creating a loud splash.

Persephone sighed. Poseidon had been a poor father, but she had been his daughter once and it had hurt her more than any monster could hope to do when he disinherited her. Now, months later all love she had felt for him was gone and all she missed from him were the gifts his lineage had provided her. Most important of those was the ability to talk to equines and to use the healing properties of water. Unfortunately, unlike movies or stories these had still been rather limited for anyone's needs but her own. Whereas she suspected that nothing short of decapitation would be capable of killing her whilst standing in a river, she had never been able to do much more than sooth aches, heal scratches and clean wounds when taking care of others. This had allowed her to help the children of Apollo who usually took care of the wounded. Even then, she suspected that her work could have easily been equalled by one of their own, less experienced siblings. No matter how weary she was had been after the battle, she had usually helped taking care of a few wounded demigods before taking her rest. Acquiring that habit had done wonders for her sleep as well.

That work had also made her aware of how inefficient their treatment of the victims after and during the battle was. Whilst the children of Apollo were excellent healers, they simple healed whoever was brought to them, when he was brought to them. Of course, they would not waste time on a mere broken leg whilst someone was dying due to his arm being cut off, but there was no one who checked the wounded and realised that the massive looking wound in the chest hadn't struck anything vital whilst the small wound in the side of the next warrior had pierced his stomach. Furthermore, unless someone left his own spot in the battle line to bring a comrade to the surgeons or the victim could walk (or crawl) to the tent of Apollo, there was no way for those to heal them. Then there were the troubles with ambrosia and even worse, nectar.

She had proposed several of her solutions at Camp Halfblood, but those had been dismissed as too difficult, unnecessary, a needless complication, ... without a lot of investigation from what she heard. She suspected that the dismissing had more to do with the fact that the Apollo-cabin (with the rather recent addition of a small number of the children of Hecate) had been the sole ruler of the camp's hospital for ages, rather than a real flaw in her ideas.

She would be checking the hospitals and procedures in another day or so, before offering her ideas to Reyna or whoever was responsible for the healthcare in the camp. She was sort of looking forward to that, to find out whether the Apollo-cabin had been right to dismiss them or not.

"I suspect you'd like to hear about some of the people I'd got to know." Persephone whispered. "I had a few interactions with your little protégée, Jason, and Reyna the co-ruler of the camp. Then there is a centurion of the Fourth, Drew, I am not really certain about her. From my own unit there are a few legionaries, chief among Hazel, she's Nico's sister who's somehow also capable of hanging out around the camp."

Persephone chuckled for a moment. "But you won't be hearing me complain about that."

Then the girl sighed once more. "I know you won't be able to contact me like during the last months." Persephone whispered before pressing her lips upon her index- and middle finger.

She stood up and pressed her finger upon the marble cheek of her adopted mother's statue.

"But please, don't leave me alone in the coming months. I'll be needing every bit of support I can have." She whispered with her fingers still pressed against the statue.

Then she removed the two fingers again. "Bye mom," she whispered, "love you."

She smiled a bit when the apples in the bowl combusted, leaving nothing behind but a few ashes and a soft, sweet scent which reminded her a bit of a garden, several years ago but without the overpowering stench of eucalyptus and decay.

* * *

Two weeks after Persephone's arrival in the camp.

Like Persephone had predicted, Reyna's decision to shore up the camp's defences was an unpopular one, but the moment the other cohorts realised that most of the job could be dumped upon the Fifth most of their objections disappeared like snow during a Texan summer. The only notable exception in this was the Seventh which had accepted the hard work as an opportunity to upstage the First in their own quest to become the new leading cohort of the legion. The other cohorts had divided the remaining hours of the heavy work among themselves as a punishment for their more unruly members. The good news for the Fifth was that this allowed them to dump several responsibilities and chores of their own upon the others in exchange for taking over their part in the digging. Chief among these was keeping watch over the camp, something Persephone herself had insisted upon. Considering the training she had in mind, limiting the sleep of her century could only have been labelled complete and utter idiocy. The other cohorts preferred to think that she simply didn't trust the members of the Fifth with the safety of the camp. Persephone would never admit it to anyone, but they were not entirely without a point.

Another and much more controversial decision was her refusal to let her century and therefore by extension her entire cohort participate in the war games. She had deliberated over that decision for several days but eventually she had removed her century. Whatever benefits the competition had were vastly outweighed by what it had become: an opportunity bash the Fifth once more, to hit upon the scapegoat, to slam whatever confidence it could gain back into the mud. Her goal was to instil some pride and confidence in them, make them stand by each other and she was well aware that suffering another humiliation would undo whatever results she had gained before. A victory at this stage would possibly be even more catastrophic, since it would reinforce their own impression that everything was fine and nothing had to change. So it would be another while before the Fifth would face the other cohorts again. Still, Persephone was most definitely looking forward to the moment when she could send the Fifth against the others and trust them to win.

But as entertaining as thoughts about the potential faces of the other centurions were once they realised they had their asses kicked by the former dead lasts of the legion, Persephone knew she had to focus upon the present first.

She sighed and returned her attention to the door of the office which was shared by the two praetors.

"Come in." Exclaimed Reyna's voice through the door, moments before it opened, allowing a particularly smug looking Octavian to leave the office.

Persephone resisted the impulse to narrow her eyes when she recognised him. Instead she simply threw him a lazy look as if he was no more interesting than a bug upon the wall, before standing up and walking to the door. She did suspect that the lack of response annoyed Octavian a lot more than whatever else she could've said or done. That thought made her smile once she had closed the door behind her.

"Persephone," Reyna said whilst reaching for another scroll, making the other two occupants of the office raise their head for a moment.

Jason, the closest of the two, shot her a welcoming smile before he sighed and resumed reading the scroll before him. Only a few seconds later, Jason sighed again, slammed a red stamp down upon the text and shoved it with a noticeable annoyance from the table. Persephone saw it drop upon a pile of papers which were bulging out of a large box next to the table. Rather than resting there, the sheet rolled down the pile and landed next to the box.

The third member of the occupants sat at the other end of the room at a small desk which had literally been shoved into a dark corner and which at one point had been littered with numerous maps, scrolls, books and letters, as well as a number of miscellaneous objects. However possibly following Jason's example, Nico had simply shoved each of those objects from the table and turned them into another massive pile. Upon hearing Persephone's name the boy had raised his head up for a moment and nodded, before returning his attention to the massive book which he had placed upon the table. Next to the book, Nico had rested a single hairy looking parchment which contained several columns with words. The distance was too large for Persephone to read them, but she could clearly see that Nico had already crossed out half of the words.

"You wanted to see me?" Persephone asked Reyna.

Said praetor took a few deep breaths in attempt to calm herself down, before turning her gaze upon Persephone. The centurion found it rather comforting that Reyna's gaze had lost most of her heath.

"Uhm? Would you prefer me to come back at a later date?" Persephone asked her.

Reyna shook her head. "No need, both our time is valuable and you had at least the grace to agree to make an appointment rather than simply use your rank to barge in."

A few feet away from her Jason chuckled for a moment after hearing her exclaim his last name. Reyna threw a quick, annoyed glare at the boy in return, but failed to hide a small smile.

"We really should stop having a meeting after you had a conversation with Octavian." Persephone told her whilst reaching for a seat.

"That would be nice." Reyna replied. "I'll give him the message to not disturb us on those days."

Persephone showed her a small smirk. "If he agrees, perhaps you'd like a daily conversation."

"I wouldn't mind that." Reyna said utilising a much friendlier tone, whilst sporting a hint of a smile.

"Then why is it that you wanted to see me?" Persephone asked her. "The century is doing rather well, by the way."

"That's part of the reason actually." Reyna started, before throwing a quick glance behind her at Nico.

"If it mainly involves me, you can just well let Nico hear it. I trust him with my life." Persephone told her.

Reyna shrugged. "So be it." She said.

"Let's start with the official cause of me calling you here." Reyna continued. "There have been several complaints against you."

She pointed a notably less warm pair of dark eyes at the daughter of Juno. "Some of these are supported by other Centurions."

Persephone snorted. "I have done nothing that I can't defend."

"We'll see." Reyna replied. "First off, you are supposed to have beaten up two campers from your own century."

"Who?" Persephone asked her.

"Former centurion Winchester and legionary Lawrence."

Persephone shrugged. "Those two were bullying some of the younger campers after an exercise, so I asked them as friendly as I could to help me demonstrate several ways to take out a cannibal without a weapon."

"I see." Reyna said. "And you proceeded to send them to infirmary rather than assigning them a punishment because?"

Persephone raised a first finger. "Because I believed that a few excises without them would benefit the century more than a few exercises with them."

She raised a second finger. "Having them publicly beaten down would make it clear to all that I won't be allowing them to rule the barracks of the Fifth, nor that I would be allowing their kind of bullying."

"Third. Their type learns more from a few hours with aching bones and sore muscles in the infirmary than it does from some other kind of punishment, especially if that one is instead forced upon some other, poor victim by them."

Finally she raised a fourth finger. "Fourth,..." Persephone began, only pausing a moment before continuing. "I loathe paperwork."

Reyna stood up from her chair whilst bowing herself towards the daughter of Juno. "You beat them up, because you loath paperwork?" Reyna asked her with a sharp tone of voice.

"I beat them up because they had the gall to tell a kid the stairs were slippery after I was forced to bring him to infirmary!" Persephone replied coldly whilst imitating Reyna's action.

Reyna stared at her for a second before seating herself again.

"How many of the other claims about you using violence upon your legionaries are based upon the same principle?" Reyna asked her with a sigh, now having calmed down.

Persephone made a dismissive motion with her hand. "I don't know, outside of actual training, it isn't like I did raise a fist against more than four or five of those idiots.

Reyna sighed and stared at the complains in her hand. She leaned back, she had already suspected that most of those complains were little more than a waste of time.

"Did you beat up members from other centuries as well?" She asked Persephone.

Persephone shook her head. "considering how popular I am with the other centurions of the Fifth, I'd figured that having a bit of paperwork in those cases would be wise." She said.

Reyna snorted. "Smart, if not I am certain Octavian would already be demanding your rank."

The praetor sighed once more. "Good, let's take the next..."

It took another ten minutes before the list with complains had been handled. None of them turned out valid.

"Politics!" Whispered Persephone with all the venom she could pour into the single word.

"Indeed." Agreed Reyna. "But it is done now."

"Will this be problem for you?" Persephone asked her, with a voice which contained some genuine worry. "Your duties will be heavy enough without the rumour you're protecting a violent, judgemental, legionary-stealing bitch because you're trying to score some points with her adopted mother."

Persephone couldn't help but reveal some mirth at the insults she had aimed at herself.

Reyna shrugged. "I am not abandoning someone due to some rumours." She replied.

Reyna cocked her head after those words. "But continue." She told Persephone. "Legionary stealing? Has that something to do with Drew?"

Persephone chuckled. "That too, of course, but actually, no it hasn't."

The daughter of Juno's lips folded into a broad, smug smirk. "It has more to do with legionaries of the other centuries of the Fifth trying to infiltrate my lessons."

She chuckled once more. "It seems not every legionary is happy with the lacklustre pace of the Fifth. Some of them escaped their own centuries and began to spend some time upon the Field of Mars with my century."

"Somehow their centurions seem to believe that I should have send them back to their own century." Persephone told Reyna with the same smug expression. It was clear to the teen that Persephone was extraordinary proud upon that development. "As if I could somehow see the difference between eighty or eighty-one legionaries." Persephone paused for a moment. "Or ninety... or a hundred..twenty..three.

"And I thought they would be disliking you, but you're already poaching the legionaries of the others."

Persephone raised a single eyebrow for a moment, wondering whether Reyna had complimented or admonished her.

Deciding that she'd be a fool for searching for insult where there might be none intended, Persephone picked the first one.

"I am not popular by them either." She admitted. "But they know that I expect them to act like legionaries and treat them as such. No codling but no favouritism or bullying either. They still believe I am their best chance to get out the Fifth eventually. "

Reyna smiled a bit. "At least your plans are making progress." She said.

"So it seems," she said with a small smile before that smile evaporated and her tone gained a warning undertone. "but don't uncork the Champaign yet. The previous step was always easier than the next."

"How are Drew and her... volunteers doing?" Reyna asked her.

"Quite well, although it is quite annoying to see the difference between a proper legionary and the current members of the Fifth." Persephone said. "I'd say it is quite inspiring though to the other members of the Fifth."

Perspehone smirked for a moment. "It also helped to persuade certain members to keep themselves a bit more in check." She added.

"That good to hear." Reyna told her, half smiling. "But the good news goes only that far, I am afraid."

"Jason and I tried to find out more about the corruption and discrimination of the Fifth." She announced whilst pointing a finger at Jason. Said son of Jupiter sighed noticeable and brushed his hand over his forehead. He was obviously displeased with his findings.

"It's a mess. Those bastards left plenty of clues about what they did, but scarcely a thing that confirms it." He muttered angrily.

"The quartermaster?" Persephone asked them.

"The only one upon who we can actually pin something and that's mostly due to you being our witness."

Remembering Octavian's expression when he left the office. Persephone muttered the augur's name with an anger which would have made most monsters run to the other end of the earth if she would have projected it on them.

"He's protecting them now, all right." Reyna explained to her. "But I don't know if he really has anything to do with the scheme, even if he was without a doubt aware."

"Octavian is all about power, he couldn't care less about money." Jason grumbled.

Reyna noticed Persephone's hand paling when the demigoddess gripped the table.

"Why do you think he's protecting them, **now**?" Persephone asked, momentarily forgetting she was talking to the two leaders of the camp.

"Octavian is a master-schemer." Jason told her. "Most of their plot might have been verbal, there is still a lot of written evidence left."

"Evidence in important books and nodules, which really shouldn't get damaged or remain missing for a long time." Reyna added.

"There is little we can do about it, Persephone." Reyna continued, obviously disappointed. "It seems Octavian intervened almost as fast as we did, but unlike us he hadn't to search for evidence, it was pointed out to him."

"The books and nodules?" Persephone asked her.

"No doubt altered and waiting to be returned to the place they never should have left." Reyna sighed. "I am sorry, Persephone, but there will be hardly anything left, we might be capable of punishing a few of those responsible, but not to amount they deserve."

Tactfully, Reyna decided to ignore Persephone's muttered opinion of the parentage, hygiene and several other physical, mental and moral deficiencies which had afflicted Octavian and his minions.

Jason, on the other hand was smiling happily when he heard her saying what he had thought for a long time.

"For what it is worth," Reyna told her. "I doubt Octavian or anyone else will start another plot like that in a long time."

"I guess that enough for now, then." Persephone muttered, obviously without believing her own words.

Reyna didn't blame her. It was hard to be confronted with blatant discrimination, harder still to realise that a few protectors made it impossible to get justice.

"So far for Roman justice." She muttered disappointed, at least part of that disappointment was fixed upon herself.

Noticing the expression of self-loathing, Persephone reached out for Reyna hand and placed her own open palm upon the fist of Belona's daughter.

"Then what can we do in return?" Persephone asked her.

She chuckled for a moment. "Please tell me it involves placing the Quartermaster in the Fifth."

Reyna chuckled. "Now there's an entertaining thought." She said, before sighing again. "Unfortunately, he asked and received permission from the senate to rejoin the Eight cohort."

"That means we won't be seeing him in the camp for at least another two months." Jason clarified.

"Guess that means no justice for the Fifth until we're a proper cohort." Persephone whispered angrily.

"Jason and I will crack down with what we have upon those we know guilty, but" Reyna reminded her half-heartedly before sighing, well aware how hollow her words had to sound.

"Do what you can, please." Persephone told her.

"I will." Reyna promised her and this time it was the child of Belona who reached for the hand of Juno's daughter. "I won't stop until this legion has ten cohorts, you do the same, okay?"

Persephone grinned. "Okay." She whispered, feeling surprisingly warm considering the news she had received before.

Jason wasted a single moment to look up from the latest document, he smiled, then he looked down again. Reyna seemed surprisingly willing to help Persephone. He wasn't certain whether that was because or despite the past they might or might not share but truthfully the change seemed good for her.

* * *

The moment the conversation between the two ended and Persephone turned towards the door, Nico raised his head from his book as well. He waited a few more moments before he closed the book with an audible sound, hastily grabbed the parchment and went after the leaving Demigoddess.

Persephone hadn't taken more than a few steps out of the office after closing the door behind her, before Nico threw the door open again.

"Talk now, in private." Nico whispered rapidly, making Persephone narrow her eyes in curiosity. She could tell he wasn't angry, instead it was almost as if he was afraid.

He threw a quick look around and made a wide motion with his arm.

"To stop the Lares." He explained before clawing his hand and making a pulling motion. Merely moments later Persephone noticed several pale hands rise from the ground. However these weren't zombies or skeletons, Persephone could see the seams between the tiles through their arms. Ghosts, Nico was obviously living up to his title as The King of Ghosts.

"Guard every door, exit and window!" He ordered them. "Fight if necessary, but withhold anyone from interrupting me."

Persephone blinked. Scratch afraid, Nico acted as if he was terrified.

"Hazel." Whispered the boy. "How is she?"

"Ehm, She's doing fine." Persephone told him. "She has quite a bit of talent with the sword and the like, give me the rest of year and there won't be a single monster she should fear."

"No, not that." Nico whispered. "Did anything strange happen to her. Did she start behaving differently, as if she's suddenly forced to hide something? Nightmares? Afraid?"

"Nothing along those lines, Nico." Persephone said then she paused. "Well, nothing that wasn't there from the start."

Nico instantly gave a sigh of relief. "Praise the Gods," he whispered, momentarily forgetting that he usually replaced praise with curse.

"What's going, Nico?" Persephone asked him.

"Underworld-business." Nico muttered. "Trust me you don't wanne know."

"It has you in a panic and it involves your sister who is a member of my century." Persephone told him, grasping his shoulders to make certain he couldn't simply shadow travel away. "I do think I have a right to know."

"You don't understand. It isn't that I don't trust you or that I don't want you to know. It is that underworld-business is not supposed to be known outside of the underworld." Nico replied.

"I understand that." Persephone told her, obviously frustrated. "I don't like it, but I understand."

"But tell me more about the reason of your sisters nightmares and the like? Why? How? Due to what? Tell me what I can know? What I can do to help? Who or what I should look out for? I mean, Jupiter's Balls, she's in the middle of the Roman camp. What could threaten or even reach her?" Persephone demanded from him.

Then Persephone stifled. "The danger aren't monsters, aren't they, Death Breath? You're afraid for a demigod?" Persephone paused for a moment, studying Nico's reactions. "Or something from the underworld?"

This time it was Nico who stifled, something which Persephone did not fail to notice and neither did Nico.

The boy hesitated for another moment, then he sighted.

"Iapetus discovered that a lot of souls have been disappearing from the Fields of Punishment and Asphodel. There are very few beings with the power to allow that." The boy paused for another second to curse himself for mentioning Hazel in connection to the Fields.

"I know Hazel can't do that, nor would she, if she had the power." Nico told Persephone.

"But she is a child of Pluto and there are others who might not believe that?" Persephone suggested. "You think someone might attack or try to manipulate her into admitting such a thing?"

"That's possible." Nico lied, he doubted the underworld would hunt her down for that, although he did not doubt that if they caught her now, she would be blamed for the mass-escape as well.

Knowing better than to linger upon the subject and so give Persephone the chance to catch his lie, Nico revealed the parchment.

"These are some of the names of the souls we know with certainty that broke out." Nico told her.

"We managed to discover one group in the mass of names, I don't know how many different groups there are, but these souls weren't chosen ad random."

He pointed at a name at the end of the parchment: Varus Michael!

"We know a large number of the victims of the Alaska-Expedition has escaped the underworld." Nico told her, "and like I just found out in Camp Jupiter, it were not just the ones who died in the land beyond the Gods. The poor souls who died before they reached the border, the madmen who died years after the expedition, ... they're all represented along the escapees."

Nico shook his head. "I've ordered a head count in the fields, to see how many of them are left. But I fear we might have three or even four cohorts of ghost-legionaries on the loose. And Fate knows how many others."

"Huntress watch over me during the night." Persephone whispered. "And you have no idea who called that many from the Fields?"

"There are few beings who can do such a thing." Nico reminded her. "So I have more than merely an idea."

"There is little I can do about that, however." Nico added.

"What I am afraid of is his reaction." He said whilst pointing a finger to the ceiling.

"Should I set Ghostbusters at hotkey?" Persephone asked him. "Is there any chance they would be used for an attack upon the camp."

Nico shook his head instantly. "If I am right, that is extremely unlikely. They're most likely intended as a defensive force."

"Who's defending force, Nico? You're dancing around the subject." Persephone told him.

Nico sighed. "That's once more underworld business, Persephone." He said. "but on his own he isn't ambitious. If we're lucky that remains so for quite awhile."

Persephone pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Where is that necromancer, Nico?" Persephone asked him. "Would that happen to be in Alaska, is he hiding in the land beyond the gods?"

Nico sighed and nodded.

"Damn the Fates and all who believe in their benevolence!" Persephone whispered furiously.

"How long do we have, Nico?" Persephone asked him with open anger.

"I don't know Persephone. I still can't tell you as much as I want about it, but it could be days, months, centuries or even millennia. He has been in Alaska for decades." Nico told her abashed.

He sighed. "I doubt he decided to gather souls for a ghost army all of suddenly. Instead, I'd say he's been busy with that for quite a while. It is simply only now that we found out."

"Your necromancer succeeded in destroying almost an entire cohort and the volunteers of nine others, so perhaps your right in that regard." Persephone admitted.

"Still, it might be pushing it to state that this discovery changes nothing." Persephone commented, whilst brushing a hand through her hair. She sighed once more, Gods she felt so tired after all this.

"Persephone," Nico began upon a cautious tone.

The teen simply sighed. "It is alright, Death Breath." She whispered. "Hazel will be safe, we kick that Necromancer's ass and we will all be laughing about all the fuss in another ten years."

Touching the grey lock of her hair at the side of her skull, she added. "But the fates know I'll be entirely grey by then."

"I'll be seeing if I can do something about that ghost army before that." Nico told her in what Persephone suspected was more an apology than a real promise.

"You do that, but don't forget to give me some warning about the threat. I'd like to prepare before taking on an entire army of Caspars."

"I will." Nico replied. "You take care of my sister in the meanwhile."

"That's a promise." Persephone told him. "You've already had a chance to tell Tyson, Clarisse and Thalia?"

"Thalia is currently following Lycaon's trail whose somewhere at the top of the States, only Artemis knows where she is." Nico replied. "I missed her by a couple of hours. I'll be telling you about the others next time."

He pointed at the parchment. "I've got to check some more names first."

"Okay, but I'll be reminding you of that promise." Persephone told him whilst pressing a finger against his chest.

"Speaking about promises." Nico reminded her. "I have Jules-Albert pick me up in another hour. He'll be bringing a first load of Stygian Iron with him. You might want to have some demigods pick it up."

He hesitated for a moment. "I'd appreciate it if you kept Hazel away from it."

Another pause. "Considering her situation it would be best if she kept as far away as possible from the underworld and the riches from beneath the Earth."

"Jules-Albert?" Persephone asked him mystified.

"My personal driver."

"You have a personal driver?"

"A former racer, who died in a horrible car crash." Nico replied dryly. "Dad's idea of getting in touch with the 21 century but considering Jules-Albert's death, I suspect Dad's wife had a hand in the pick as well."

* * *

It was only a couple of days later that Persephone gained the suspicion that Nico had been wrong. That the prophecy wasn't waiting another century before it would be fulfilled.

"Where's the invasion force?" Persephone asked angrily whilst raising her head from her pillow. Pointing a furious glare at the idiot who dared to wake her after only... she fixed her eyes for a second on the nearest clock... four hours of sleep.

"Right," she thought, "there better be a massive invasion going on."

Hazel gulped. "There is no invasion force." She whispered. "But there might have been attack."

"All the centurions have called to senate." She told her centurion.

"What happened?" Persephone asked her whilst reaching for a bowl with water which stood in front of the statues upon her nightstand and dumped the fluid into her face, not caring about the water which fell upon her mattress and shirt.

"Jason was supposed to check some of the morning patrols." Hazel told her whilst turning around, keeping her eyes away from wet patch upon Persephone's shirt. She failed to move when the shirt sailed past her and landed upon the nearby desk.

"And?" Persephone asked the girl over the rustled sound of her clothes being grabbed from her cabinet.

"He never arrived at the second patrol." Hazel whispered. "Our praetor is missing!"

* * *

 _Would you mind leaving a review?_


	7. Chapter 7

**First of all, let me start with some great news. I have acquired a beta for this story, LordProtectorCorvoAttano was kind enough to approach me with the offer. Needless to explain, I accepted.**

 **On another note, thank you to everyone who was kind enough to review and/ or made me aware of his or her opinion of the fic. We're currently close to 15 000 views, I am rather curious whether we make that milestone before tomorrow or not. (I am keeping my fingers crossed.)**

 **For those who want to know, the song used in this chapter is Amanda Seyfried's cover from Lil' red Riding Hood.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, nor the song or the movie which it is promoting and it is rather doubtful I ever will.**

* * *

Persephone groaned whilst waiting until the racket died down. Hiding a yawn behind her hand, Persephone turned her head and stared at the doors of the senate.

Every seat in the building had already been taken, but still more people kept entering. She guessed she was rather lucky, in a way. The marble of the stairs was cold, hard and rather wet due to the soggy shoes and sandals of so many people, but still, it was more comfortable than sitting upon the floor or standing amidst of the packed mass at the rear of the hall.

Luckily for her, the news of Jason's disappearance and the water in her barracks had chased most of her drowsiness away. The bad news was that it was quickly getting replaced by her growing annoyance.

She hadn't figured out what annoyed her the most: the obvious uselessness of most senators themselves (if she heard one more comment about those water cannons she would be shoving it up their noses), the way a few centurions of the first had walked towards Reyna and had started to argue with her in front of the entire hall or the admirers of the Seventh. The fact that their eyes seemed glued to the chest of the boys and men was something she could live with, the constant giggling and sighing on the other hand...

"Drew, please say something intelligible to me." She sighed, whilst resisting the urge to grab Drew's ear.

"B-B-But most of them are shirtless." The girl whimpered, not bothering to remove her eyes from said shirtless chests.

Persephone groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "At least acting like a star struck teenager hasn't removed the girl's ability to fight," she thought somewhat annoyed.

"We're here because Jason's gone." Persephone reminded the centurion of the Fourth.

Drew tore her longing gaze from the boys and nodded. "I know." she said, instantly sobered up.

In the other corner of the hall, Whitfield, the unofficial head of the Seventh kept throwing his glare around, obvious no less annoyed than Persephone and after whispering something against a tall, dirty-blond haired girl, he pushed the members of his cohort further towards the corner of the room. Persephone chuckled softly when she realised that the female attendees of the Seventh seemed intend to form a wall between their male comrades and the giggling mob around them.

"Guess that's the last time those boys sleep shirtless," Persephone whispered rather amused, "or at least leave their barracks without a shirt."

Drew shook her head in return. "It confirms the rumour of Whitfield being whipped." She whispered in return.

Persephone shrugged in return. She had no interest in the boy except as a comrade in arms or a sparring partner, his relationships were not her business.

Despite her earlier comment, Drew's tone had become more serious.

"Did you hear anything about Jason's disappearance?" she asked Persephone.

Persephone shook her head in return. "Only that it happened between two patrols." She told Drew in return. "But I figure something was seen or happened, otherwise there wouldn't be so much so soon."

Drew nodded. "Good point."

At that point, Persephone noticed several red-faced members of the First marching back to their seats which had been guarded in the meanwhile by other members from their cohort. Amidst of those, She recognised Octavian. It was quite obvious that boy had known better than to make a scene in front of the rest of the legion. No, Octavian preferred to make himself seem like the reasonable one and instead used others for those jobs. Still if it had been his intention to rile Reyna further up, and Persephone suspected it was, it had succeeded.

Persephone sighed again when the rumour began to die down. It seemed that without the members of the First in the front and with the constant glaring of the female members of the Seventh there remained little to whisper about. At this point she regretted it, she suspected that Reyna could have used some more moments to settle down.

* * *

Reyna resisted the impulse to glare at Octavian, she also resisted the impulse to grab a pilum and launch it at him. Still the idea of skewering the blond bastard became more attractive with every passing day. She was not turning him into a martyr though, especially not since the availability of nectar, unicorn-horn and ambrosia meant that he was likely to survive the attack. For all she knew, that was one of his little plots at the moment, simply annoy her enough until she did something very stupid which was bound to cost her her rank.

She shook her head and focused her gaze upon the gathered audience in the senate. Every senator, several representatives from the civilian organisations and apart from a few exceptions which currently kept the camp secure, every centurion and optio in Camp Jupiter.

"As you all without a doubt have heard, my colleague, Jason has disappeared." Reyna began, taking a great care in presenting a calm, even cold visage and unperturbed voice.

A rumour seemed to rise, but Reyna simply raised her hand, not even bothering to accompany it with a glare and the hall fell silent again.

"He disappeared less then two hours ago."Reyna continued. "After participating in the western patrol and he failed to turn up at the start of the southern patrol."

Reyna paused for a moment.

"Like some of you may or may not have been aware, the last weeks there seems to be an small upsurge in the number of monsters in several areas. Both the Eight, which is currently guarding the area around the camp as well as several colonies of Ninth and Tenth mentioned having found traces of a grand numbers of lesser monsters moving around. Our own patrols also mentioned having found traces from a single large monster."

Reyna paused for a moment. "Tonight that beast has revealed itself as the Chimera." She continued with a slightly softer voice. "two members of the second paid for that discovery with severe burns. Another three escaped with lesser burns. Fortunately there was no loss of life."

"The attack was aimed at the second from our eastern patrols, so whilst it is unlikely that the Chimera was able to attack Jason in what little time it had, considering his rank, the timing and the most likely route he took, his disappearance is not likely to be an accident. It is not impossible that a second monster assaulted Jason whilst underway."

Reyna paused a moment, to allow them a moment to take that information in before continuing. Then she noticed Persephone slowly and deliberating raising her hand.

"Centurion Jackson?" She asked her.

"I already had an experience with the Chimera." Persephone muttered. "I survived and that is all the good I can say about that confrontation."

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and raised her upper lip momentarily in a snarl which revealed her white teeth before she brushed a hand through her hair. An action which she followed up with a weary sigh. "Anyway, at the time Chimera was accompanied by his mother, Echidna and from the way she talked to it, she seemed rather taken with her child. It did not seem overtly likely to me that she would let it very far out of her sight at the time."

"Interesting," Reyna replied. "Unfortunately, we're still without a clue about where or exactly when Jason disappeared."

"What do you mean. Still without a clue." Asked a voice from the First cohort instantly.

Persephone, Reyna and quite a few from the other officers pointed their narrowed eyes at the optio who had raised his voice. Obviously none of them was impressed by the tone of the boy's voice or his butting in.

Reyna didn't react for a few moments, instead she allowed the atmosphere to press down upon the lone optio.

"Everyone calm down, please." Asked Octavian whilst making a soothing motion with his hands. "I am certain, Reyna did not call us here without a reason or any indication of Jason's disappearance."

"So that was the reason of the Optio's earlier words." Persephone thought. "A pawn moving forward to help him make it seem as if Reyna is panicking."

"Part of the reason that I called you now rather than tomorrow is that Jason seems to have literally disappeared into nothing." Reyna told them. "The praetorians which I had trace his known route found not so much as a single trace of him."

"Could Jason have erased his own traces with his control over air?" Octavian asked or more likely suggested, making Reyna glare with even more venom at the descendant of Apollo.

"Yes, he could." Reyna was forced into admitting, not liking the image Octavian was trying to create.

Then Reyna smiled. "But I doubt that Jason would leave the camp without a reason, least of all without taking measures." She paused for a moment.

"To believe otherwise, seems rather... laughable." She said upon a tone which made clear she wasn't going to laugh anytime soon.

"Of course," Octavian replied, not showing so much as a single hint that he was annoyed or even bothered by the way how Reyna had turned his suggestion around.

Persephone leaned back whilst thinking over the situation herself. As impressive as Octavian's mastery of English was and entertaining the verbal jousting between him and Reyna seemed to the others, it was clear that Reyna was either unable or unwilling to relinquish more information about the disappearing of Jason.

In her opinion, Reyna should have held the news of Jason's disappearance back until noon. Instead she might have waited with the reveal of the praetor's disappearance until she knew a bit more. At least until the eagles had been able to check the grounds.

Still, considering Octavian's position, the descendant of Apollo's network of clients and his own skills, it might have been impossible to keep the news secret for so long.

She sighed. "Only the gods knew what kind of troubles the boy could have created with that knowledge before the rest of the camp was aware." She thought.

Oh, how she loathed politics.

Looking at the faces of the gathered officials, it was quite obvious that Octavian, not unlike his namesake, whether she liked it or not was incredibly skilled in the art of politics.

Persephone kept her glare from showing, whilst looking at the crowd which for the greater part seemed in agreement with the augur.

"The frog is getting boiled before he realises he should leap." She muttered, remembering a metaphor Juno had mentioned once.

"What?" asked Drew whilst turning her attention to girl next to her.

"The boy is aiming for the chair next to Reyna's."

"The camp's most poorly hidden secret." Drew replied with a small smile.

"And Jason's chair is still warm, yet they're agreeing if not downright cheering at his attempt to claim it." Persephone continued, obviously annoyed.

Drew expression darkened for a moment.

"He hasn't said a word about being Jason's replacement so far." Drew said in return, obviously annoyed by the idea of Jason's getting replaced by Octavian like that.

"No, he hasn't." Persephone admitted. "He knows better than doing that now, he has other irons in the fire, his control of the first cohort, the Fates know how much influence he has about the others! and let's not forget his position as augur, he's bound to be involved in every attempt to locate Jason after this."

Drew frowned. "When you put it like that, it does sound like he would be capable of replacing Jason as a praetor." She said obviously not too fond of the idea.

Picking up on Drew's mood, Persephone sighed.

"Let's forget about that for now." She whispered to Drew. Trusting the other teenager to be intelligent enough to draw her own conclusions. "Just remember, there was a time before Octavian was the sole responsible of the promotion of optios and centurions in his own unit and had a hand in the promotion of the Fates knows how many others. It hasn't stopped the legionaries of acknowledging each of them."

"The way you say that, it almost sound like you expect him to start a civil war." Drew told her with wry smile.

Persephone chuckled for a single moment. It was a dry sound and without its customary mirth. "Considering how infatuated he seems to be with his namesake," Persephone replied, "I doubt he hasn't considered it."

* * *

It took a little over another half hour before the meeting ended. However despite the original subject of the assembly, it was clear to Persephone and anyone who was paying attention to the hidden meaning of their words that it had quickly dissolved in a power struggle between Reyna and Octavian. And whilst Reyna had succeeded in keeping Octavian mostly out of the search for Jason, it was equally obvious to Persephone that on her own, trying as hard as she might, Reyna was still losing the verbal war against Octavian.

Persephone didn't bother with most niceties afterwards and practically ran directly to her barracks. She only paused for a minute to talk with Reyna, to rest her hand for a few moments upon the praetor's shoulder.

Ignoring the call from her bed for now, she opened the door to the bathroom. A quick turn at the knob from the shower and water was falling down.

Persephone fumbled for a few more moments with a small pouch and than a single coin fell into the small, but quickly expanding puddle of water.

"Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." She whispered. "Show me Nico."

Her control over water might have been gone, but every demigod in camp Halfblood was taught some control over the Mist. It was a trick which had proven useful before.

She pointed her gaze upon the darkness which seemed to float into the air. Guess that was what happened when the person receiving the message lay in the dark.

"Wake up, Nico." She snarled whilst resisting the urge to poke her hand into the darkness, in attempt to shake the boy awake. Then she took a deep breath. It was late (she hadn't taken a look at her watch yet, so for all she knew it might have been early by now), she was tired, irritated, already annoyed, more than a little bit worried and angered. Yet Nico had no cause to any of this, so there was no need to blow up upon him.

"Persephone?" asked an obviously drowsy voice whilst the chocolate eyes caught a glimpse of motion in the darkness which now tainted her shower. "What time is it?"

Another intake of breath, than Persephone nodded. "Yes, it is me, Death Breath." She said adopting a calmer, kinder voice than any legionary of her cohort had heard her utilise in the past week. She also decided to ignore the question about the hour.

A pause. "Is Hazel alright?" Asked Nico with a flat voice which hinted at the strain of his worries.

"She's safe and the greatest danger she's been exposed to so far is a hard mattress." Persephone told Nico.

Another pause followed. "Then why are you calling me? Especially with an Iris-message?"

"Jason, is he dead?" Persephone asked him.

"What?"

"There was an attack at the camp, several demigods were wounded. Jason disappeared but he was in another section of the camp."

"I understand." Nico replied, before taking a deep breath.

It took several moments before he replied. "He's alive." Nico said.

Persephone released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. "That's good to hear." She replied before adding with a quick voice. "Are you certain?"

"I can't find some of the souls in the underworld, but I am not unable of telling someone is death or not." Nico replied, obviously annoyed.

"You'll be telling Reyna?" He asked her.

Persephone shook her head. "I am sorry, Nico, but I wouldn't know how to explain contacting you." She admitted. "I'd really appreciate it if you could to the camp again, for whatever reason, find some excuse to reveal Jason is alive in public."

She could easily hear Nico's sigh. "Octavian is smelling blood with Jason gone, eh? Son of Apollo or merely descendant, he is a true bastard."

Persephone chuckled in return. "Some classics never grow stale." She remarked.

Her expression darkened. "But the joke is unfortunately accurate." She continued.

Another moment of silence followed.

"I can't afford to lose a lot of time at the moment." Nico began. "Still it wouldn't hurt to pop over to the Camp to check some irregularities in my notes."

"And if someone mentioned Jason's disappearance to you, it would be nothing to reveal that he isn't dead." Persephone continued with a small smile.

She bowed her head a bit. "Thank you, Nico. I owe you for your help." She admitted, before adding rather disgruntled. "Again."

A soft chuckle started in return.

"You requesting my help does seem to become rather common since you've joined the Romans." Nico reminded her before quickly adding. "Not that I mind though."

Persephone shook her head in return. "I've noticed the trend too and it worries me."

"Debts are only important when it involves strangers or merchants." Nico reminded her.

"Still won't stop me from paying you back." Persephone reminded. "I'd hate to make a habit from calling for help."

"I know you won't and just as importantly I know I will be in need of your help sooner or later, so I am counting upon that. So anything else, or can I go back to sleep for the next..." Nico paused for a moment, "... Apollo's shiny arse, only three hours!?"

"Yeah, I'll be letting you sleep then, I wish you a good night, Death Breath. Give my regards to the others once it is possible." Persephone told him before reaching for the knob of the shower. At the other side of the Iris-message, Nico sighed after giving the girl his own regards.

"You didn't want to speak to her?" The son of Hades asked with a loud voice. "Despite being awake."

Behind the boy the door of his hotel room opened, revealing a silver glow in the darkness.

"A Titan doesn't need sleep like a mortal or demigod, Nico." Replied a deep, dark and mostly tired sounding voice.

Despite the silver illumination which it accompanied the darkness at the edge of the room seemed to deepen when a tall figure entered the room.

"I was thinking." He said and despite the hint of darkness in his voice, his tone was rather friendly. "Trying to remember."

"I see." Nico simply said.

"Mind if I open the window?," Iapetus asked him." If you want to continue talking, rather than going to sleep."

Nico ignored the friendly chiding undertone of the Ancient.

"Did you remember anything new?" He asked the Titan Lord of the West whilst the male stood still with his back the boy, peering upwards to the sky out of the now opened window of the hotel.

"I did." Whispered the Elder Titan, resting his hands upon window frame. "A conversation with Prometheus and Epimetheus, me preparing to teach Atlas how throw a javelin and, " he sighed deeply before turning around and leaning his back against the underside of the window. Nico saw that he kept his gaze aimed upon the stars in the sky. "and," he continued, " a hint of Clymene."

"You could have asked her." Nico told the Titan of Mortality whilst the immortal kept gazing upwards.

"Or," he suggested. "I can. I know she would tell in heartbeat whether she knew the why and who or not."

"I'll ask her myself once I am able to." Iapetus muttered.

"It is confusing, hm?" Nico asked him. "I know it was difficult for me."

"It is," Iapetus confirmed. "The stars have changed a lot since before my imprisonment."

Nico chuckled softly. "You know I wasn't talking about the stars." He said.

"Sooner or later, you'll have to talk with Persephone." Nico reminded him, mentally adding, "for better or worse."

"I know, but not now. Now, I am feeling too confused." He muttered.

Nico nodded. "There is still time, just for both your sakes, don't wait too long." He whispered.

Iapetus nodded. It wasn't as if they hadn't had this kind of conversation before.

The boy sighed. "Another three days." He reminded him. "Then I'll be capable of calling the spirit of Drake, with his information, Odysseus's and the others, I might able of finding her island."

"It will be good to see my granddaughter," Iapetus muttered whilst closing the window. "I wonder if she herself remembers me."

Nico sighed. Just like the first time it had come up. So far the Titan hadn't recalled a single moment with any of his grandchildren. Although admittedly that was saying little since he had yet to recall the face of even his own wife

"I'll leave you now. Have good night, what little remains of it." Iapetus told Nico, pouring a tinge of humour in the last part of the sentence. "I'll be in the room next to yours, thinking."

Nico nodded and laid his head down. Before the Titan had closed the door behind him, Nico was asleep again.

* * *

"Where is Persephone?" Was asked by a very tired looking Reyna to Edwin Thompson. The son of Camulos paused for a moment, utilising the few seconds of respite to lower his sword whilst his opponent, his brother Arthur stepped back and imitated his actions.

"She's at the other side of the Fields, my lady." He said whilst pointing in said direction. "She's taking care of one of the horses, I believe."

"I understand." replied Reyna. "Carry on."

A moment later, Edwin was forced a few steps back when Arthur utilised his brother's distraction to throw his entire weight against his brother's shield to force it downwards. A quick sweep from the legionnaire's blade stopped the other's spatha from touching his armour, but only just and the battle between the two continued with a growing intensity. Reyna noted that one of Persephone's borrowed instructors immediately came running to keep an eye on them.

Reyna walked past the next combatants in the direction the boy had pointed out.

It was obvious to her practiced eye that most teens kept working hard, even without Persephone's presence. Although she suspected that the "enthusiasm" of Drew and the others had a lot to do with this. Considering the way most legionaries glared at their instructors, Reyna suspected that her presence hadn't really affected the intensity of the training. It was quite obvious that Persephone was working them hard in her desire to see the honour of the Fifth restored. If it continued like this she might actually be willing to send them into battle.

She paused for a moment to watch the horsemen practice. Ten horsemen, both regular scouts and simply legionaries practicing at horseplay, rode up and down the terrain. Six of them were practicing their swordplay against one other, the other four steered their horse straight at a couple of straw men. Reyna noticed that unlike the regular practice these horsemen hadn't pointed the tip of their swords at the chest of their opponents. Instead each of the swords slashed downwards in quick, cruel strokes that had obviously been intended to maim the side of their victim's skull and the face.

After that, rather than simply returning at a footpace to spare the strength of the horses, the horsemen turned around and charged again their swords raised across their shoulder.

Reyna frowned at first, then she saw the horsemen overtake the straw men and slash backwards in a wide arc at what would have been the straw dolls' unprotected faces. Reyna's frown grew deeper, unlike the back of their head the face of most opponents would remain unprotected, an easy target even with the reduced power of the blades. Still, it was much more likely to maim an opponent than to kill him. She had to admit though, even merely watching them was terrifying and that was not even imagining them trying to ride her down. It was deliberately developed to unsettle opponents and she had little doubt that a group of monsters would be unwilling to face those horsemen again after being beaten off a first time. Rather ironic since simply spearing them was likely to send a lot more to Tartarus then the scything arcs would.

It was a small wonder that several centurions had complained about her trainings methods. Persephone might have introduced more changes in the training of their horsemen in a single afternoon than otherwise had been the case in a decade, although admittedly considering the nature of the legion, that was less of an achievement than most would initially suspect. Romans made rather poor horsemen.

Still, a cynical part of her suspected that the complains about her training of the horsemen had more to do with them being afraid for their own faces during the next capture-the-flag in which the Fifth participated.

She shook her head and walked towards the large tent at edge of the terrain, behind which the last remaining horses and Persephone were supposed to be.

Reyna did not bother to announce herself but she caught a glimpse of the centurion in the corner of the tent. The teen sat upon one knee, leaning against side of the horse whilst she held the left leg in her hand which she moved very slowly, whilst keeping her gaze fixed upon the muscles of the leg. Reyna noticed the girl was absent-mindedly brushing her remaining hand against the horse neck, obviously preoccupied with analysing the problem with the horse's leg.

Curiously Reyna also noticed Persephone's lips moving constantly. Reyna was only a single horse away from the girl before she could hear what the centurion was whispering.

" _I think you oughta walk with me and be safe."_ Whispered Persephone half singing, half talking.

" _Gonna keep my sheep suit on (...) til I'm sure that you've been shown (...) that I can be trusted walking with you alone._ " It was a soft and rather soothing sound that felt comforting, instinctively reminding Reyna of a lullaby.

" _Little red riding hood (...)I'd like to hold you if I could (...) but you might think I'm a big bad wolf so I won't_ " Reyna somehow knew intuitively that Persephone had never intended for anyone to hear her, so she couldn't help but feel like an intruder. Still, she hesitated for another moment before she could make a noise which would make Persephone aware of her arrival.

" _What a big heart I have (...) the better to love you with (...) Little red riding hood (...) even bad wolves can be good._ "

Despite the way Persephone sung it, it was quite obviously that the song had not been intended as a lullaby. Reyna realised that she had hesitated long enough and stamped her heel a bit harder than strictly necessary down. In reply, Persephone raised her head instantly, her lips clenched together.

Reyna decided that might be less awkward for the girl if she pretended that she hadn't heard a thing.

"I heard you were caring for one of the horses?" Reyna asked her. A moment later she clenched her teeth together. That had sounded a lot more accusing than the light hearted remark she had intended.

"I did." Persephone replied, the sharpness of her voice quite a contrast with the much softer tone from barely seconds ago.

"It sounded nice," Reyna remarked, deciding that a simple not bad might be taken as an insult. "It was soothing."

Reyna hesitated for another moment. "Despite that, it wasn't my intention to eavesdrop."

Persephone stared at her for a second than she gave Reyna a rather small smile.

"Thanks." She said cautiously. "I know I don't sound like a daughter of Apollo."

She smiled depreciating and stood up whilst slowly lowering the horse's leg before brushing her hand across the neck of the horse. "But at least it tends to sooth the horses."

Reyna could see the verbal equivalent of an offered hand when she was being offered one, so she returned a small smile.

"Are you here to deliver the usual of complains about me, my training methods and my unit?" Persephone asked her with small smirk, obviously seeing a lot more humour in the situation than Reyna ever would.

Reyna simply nodded.

"Right, what is it this time?" Persephone asked her.

"The much more elaborate horsemanship-training and more specifically your habit of targeting the faces." Reyna said, mentioning the only complaint that actually troubled her.

"Better not to telling then that I am planning to train the horses to aim their hooves at the nuts as well, hm?" The teen replied with a much broad smirk. "and to start a breeding program with the man-eating mares of Diomedes."

"A serious answer, please?" Reyna replied, too tired to appreciate the poor attempt at humour.

Persephone stared at her for a moment, then she shrugged.

"It terrifies the monsters." She said. "By the Fallen, it even terrifies me and I am the one who institutionalised the practice."

She paused for a moment. "Teaching the horsemen to fight like they did before is useless, unless we would gather all the horsemen in the legion and possibly add a few more volunteers. As it is, they lack the numbers to have some impact upon the enemy except as skirmishers."

Persephone snorted after that. "And they lack the patience to do that well."

"No, a few more slain monsters won't make so much as a dent in the numbers of their hordes, if it comes down to killing everything relies upon the legionaries." Persephone continued. "Still dead monsters tell no tales, but the living do and all the more enthusiastic if they carry a few scars upon them to prove the ferociousness of the victors."

Persephone sighed. "I once heard that if you kill enough enemies, that for every one you kill another ten stay away. Perhaps, but if you scare them enough for every enemy you kill a hundred might stay away."

"Don't think I took the decision to focus upon teaching them to wound and maim rather than kill, easily." Persephone told her, then she sighed and swept a hand through her hair. I don't know which is more sad, that I was forced to learn those things or rather than I am actually teaching them to others."

Persephone shook her head. "Some of them are way too young, then again so were we all."

The teen chuckled mirthlessly. "Damn, I sound old."

Another swipe from her hand through her hair before she shook her head again. "And Gods do I feel old when I think about it."

"You regret training them?" Reyna asked, already knowing the answer.

"Not so much as I would regret not training them." Persephone muttered in reply.

Reyna sighed. The age of demigods when they started questing or were allowed into the battle lines had been set as twelve, but in practice most centurions tried to keep everyone under fourteen away from the real bloodshed. She couldn't blame Persephone for feeling the same way.

"How are your horsemen doing?" Reyna asked her.

"The real horsemen are skilled enough." Persephone admitted. "Perhaps the only thing in which the Fifth is superior to all the others. They've got some fine horsemen."

"Some would say, a horse is not the Roman way." Reyna said rather casually.

Persephone snorted. "Some people talk too much, think too little and should shut up." She muttered in return.

"They're fine." Persephone whispered, more to her own than Reyna's benefit. "All I have to do is improve is the coordination between the horsemen and their restraint, as it is now everything falls apart after the first confrontation. In addition, maybe I should have them exchange the lance for a bunch a javelins."

She shook her head again. "But those failings won't go away until they've been tested in proper battle."

"You've read my request about the Stygian Iron?" Persephone asked Reyna, once she had regained her focus.

"You wanted another share from the Stygian Iron?" Reyna asked her. "The one you had Nico supply us with."

"It is not as if it is actually being of use to anyone, in those boxes far from the foundry." Persephone reminded her, perhaps a bit more smug than strictly necessary because she knew perfectly where the goods were. "At the rear of warehouse XI, wasn't it?"

"Don't tell me you've gathered your own network of spies here?" Reyna asked her, sounding even more tired than before.

"My own?" Persephone asked her for a moment. "Octavian?"

She sighed and shook her head in return, denying the accusation. Truth to be told, all she had to do was ask Hazel whilst she led the century on a jog through and around the city.

"Why do you want it?" Reyna asked her. Well aware from the fact that most demigods would prefer to take an antique trophy over a weapon from the damned material.

"The Fifth requires a large amount of javelins and preferable some more spears as well. A lot more than I am capable of acquiring without literally placing my swords against their throat." Persephone said.

"And if the legion is officially unwilling to provide you with them," Reyna began.

"You make certain you get the goods unofficially." Persephone continued.

Reyna shook her head.

"Is that why the senate only received mention of the ore after the foundry had been closed?" She asked Persephone. "Did people ever tell you, you're surprisingly good at manipulating?"

Persephone sighed. "It comes surprisingly easy nowadays." Persephone admitted. "I'd like to think these instances are merely coincidences, common sense or preparations."

"I honestly don't get why people think I am manipulating." She said.

"You'd be surprised how often manipulation is composed out of those three." Reyna muttered. At least Persephone stood on her side.

"Still, please don't call it like that." Persephone replied whilst actually shivering. "It reminds me too much of blackmail and politics. I am merely...er, efficient."

In truth, the idea of manipulation reminded her way to much to the second Titan War and the numerous Demigods who had ended up working against their siblings.

Reyna shrugged in return. What did it matter how she called it, she thought. At least the girl was not trying to take control of the entire legion.

"What are you going to do with the ore?" She asked instead.

"I've found a blacksmith who's capable and willing to create the weapons I need." Persephone told her.

"And in return?" Reyna asked her.

"In return, she's allowed to use some of the remnants of the ore for her own designs." Persephone admitted, whilst repressing the instinctual urge to cringe.

The teen had years of experience with shutting the experiments of the Hephaestus cabin and more specifically their failed attempts to develop a droid army down. They could call it automatons for all they wanted, she had seen the name Grievous upon the chest of six-armed automaton. Finally, even Beckendorf had drawn the line when Nyssa wrote Skynet upon another's chest.

She was hoping that daughters of Vulcan were more stable than some of the children of Hephaestus she had met, but considering Ruby had seemed torn between giggling like a little girl and laughing like an utter maniac, she was wondering how long it took before she found a plan with instructions for another future nightmare.

"Please don't let her try to turn every weapon into a gun." Persephone whispered unknowingly.

"What?" Reyna asked her.

Persephone blinked for a moment, realising that she said that out loud. "Nothing," she replied.

She would most definitely be looking at whatever plans Ruby came up with though. She doubted the Fifth would survive the outfall if somehow a mechanical dragon escaped to haunt the area around this camp. Seriously what kind of drugs had been smuggled into Camp Half-Blood when the Hephaestus cabin came up with that? Whether she liked it or not, things like that made the Roman preference for tradition, simplicity and stubbornness seem rather sensible.

Realising she had been staring at the praetor for a while, she shook her head.

"Sorry I was lost in thoughts, for a moment." She said.

"I know what's that like, Reyna admitted.

Persephone resisted the impulse to nod. Reyna looked paler than she should and there were bags underneath her eyes. Not that most people would have noticed.

"Is there any more news about Jason?" Persephone asked her, prompting a small smile upon Reyna lips.

"Nico was here this morning." Reyna told her and unless she was strongly mistaken, there was a slight accusatory tone in her voice.

"He claims he hasn't sensed him dying last night." She continued whilst the smile had broadened a bit.

Ignoring whatever accusation there might or might not have been in Reyna's voice, Persephone gave her a small smile in return.

"That's great to hear." The centurion said in return.

"Unfortunately he had no idea where he actually was, so we're still in the dark on that." Reyna continued. She sighed. "And Octavian had no clue either." Reyna continued before sighing again. "I can't say I like this, an augur is rarely efficient but him being entirely without even the slightest clue is worrying, almost as much for us as it is for him."

"I'll be checking with my mother in another hour or so." Persephone told her. "She's his patron, if there is anyone who might have an inkling of his whereabouts, it is her."

"That would be appreciated," replied Reyna. "Is there anything else?"

Persephone hesitated for a moment. She had made a written request, a couple of days before Jason's disappearance and whilst it hadn't been urgent, it would be necessary. Even more so considering what had happened last night. Still, Jason's disappearance made it also seem rather inappropriate.

Considering Reyna's question, the girl hadn't read the request yet, but she would soon enough, if it wasn't today it would be tomorrow or the day afterwards.

As much she preferred not to appear rude or uncaring for someone she actually liked and could respect, it seemed like she had little choice.

She took a deep sigh and bowed her head.

"I made a request a couple of days ago." She began with a rather demure voice. "At the time it seemed sensible and even necessary."

She paused. "Now I am afraid it might seem rather disrespectful, still I do believe it is necessary. Now more than ever."

"What's so bad that you keep circling around the subject." Reyna asked her with a mixture of wariness and misgiving.

"Just promise me that you allow me to explain everything before you think about turning it down?" Persephone asked her, sounding rather resigned.

* * *

Persephone stared at the retreating backside of the praetor. She sighed.

Reyna had been unexpectedly reasonable, or at least a lot more reasonable then Persephone suspected she herself would have been in her position. Still Reyna agreed, reason had taken precedence over her own feelings.

She was certain Reyna felt like crap due to that. Persephone herself certainly did.

She was still staring at the retreating back from Reyna when the Fifth's resident energizer bunny charged in.

"And what did she say?" Ruby asked her rapidly. "What did she say? Can we borrow the iron?"

Persephone sighed, feeling more tired than she had before she took a break disguised as a checking a wounded horse. It wasn't as if the horse hadn't needed it, but it could easily have waited until the break at noon.

"She agreed." Persephone said, trying not to show how tired she actually felt.

"Take your sister and whoever else you need to pick it up after." She told Ruby.

She sighed again. "You and your chosen assistants are free from the digging and the individual training if you and they pass my requirements. You're to use that time to forge what we need, if I find you twiddling with you thumbs I'll have you digging latrines before you can say sir!"

Ruby stifled for a moment. "Yes, ma'am." She replied with a nervous salute.

Persephone sighed again. Again, that could have come out a lot gentler than what had ended up erupting from her mind.

"What are you planning to do with the iron?" She asked whilst soothing her voice. "Do you have the plans with you?"

Ruby nodded enthusiastically.

"Here they are." She said whilst opening the small bag on her belt. She held a few papers up with obvious pride. Looking around she hesitated for a moment.

"Erh, do you have anything where I can lay it on?" She asked Persephone.

In reply Persephone kicked one bale of hay down and threw a horse blanket over it.

"That will do." Ruby replied cheerfully.

"The first change I wanted to make is something rather minor." Ruby began whilst pointing at the first of the plans.

Persephone couldn't help but smile in return, the way Ruby stood there almost like a student at a show and tell in front of a class was adorable.

"Most spear tips are traditionally leaf shaped and socketed upon the pole." She said. "I wanted to add two lugs on either side behind the blade tip. Whilst this changes the balance of the weapon a little bit, it would prevent an enemy or a shield from being pierced to deep. This makes it much easier to retract the weapon."

She paused for a moment. "Apart from this obvious advantage," Ruby continued. "I am planning to design it so that it not only is capable of stopping a charge but also can easily be used to hook a shield down or can be used to help push a ladder up when attacking or if defending to push them away."

"Well, that began comprehensible enough." Persephone thought.

"Will the alloy you're using be sturdy enough to withstand the stress of a confrontation and more specifically a prolonged confrontation." She asked. She might be a layman in metallurgy and well most crafts or mostly anything outside of Greek and Roman history, mythology, warfare and her former father's domains. (She considered herself an experienced, but mostly self studied amateur in regards to healing) Still, you couldn't have a brother who was one of the best blacksmith's in the service of Olympus and some friends with the same passion without acquiring some knowledge of the art. (That and the fact that she, over the years, had acquired some "professional" interest in weaponry considering how often she ended up wielding them or had them used against her.)

Ruby stared at her for a moment, then her smile grew a bit brighter.

She nodded. "It sure will, I tested a few alloys. I am certain that I found a method which will allow me a way to cast it sturdy enough to withstand an enraged grizzly." She said cheerfully.

"The sad thing is, in our business that's way too often not enough." Persephone muttered.

"Still, it sounds good." She said. "How long would it take to forge one?"

"For testing?" Ruby asked her.

"That and if sufficient in larger numbers."

"If I made it on my own." Ruby began, looking rather thoughtful. "Five, six hours?"

"But," she continued. "If I have help I could easily make twice that amount in halve the time, possibly even more."

Persephone narrowed her eyes for a moment, to think. That seemed rather reasonable.

She nodded. "Get me some prototypes, preferable before the day after tomorrow and we'll talk about replacing those antique designs with yours."

Persephone nodded. "What else do you have for me?" She asked her.

"Well," Ruby began, now sounding rather nervous. "This is a weapon I designed a couple of months ago."

Persephone, noticing the tone of Ruby, bowed herself a bit deeper down to look at the weapon. What she saw was a design that looked like a scorpio, but with a lot more metal parts and a windlass which was connected to a chain drive.

"I dubbed this one the Rhodian Rose." Ruby said proudly. "I've been unable to build one so far, but when I do, it should be better than everything the legion has produced so far."

"Why?" Persephone asked her curiously. What followed was a long and high paced explanation about the importance of the greater distance between the springs, the use of that alloy on that place and a different alloy on another place, the much greater ease with which it could be aimed, why it would be capable of replacing half a dozen velites and her predictions about the range and accuracy of the weapon. If she was honest to herself, Persephone would be forced to admit that she understood little more than every third word of the explanation.

"How long would it take to turn a scorpio in your, erh, Rhodian Rose?" Persephone asked her.

"Well," Ruby began whilst sheepishly scratching the back of her head. "since it is quite different from the standard scorpio, I am almost starting from scratch."

Persephone sighed. "Of course," she thought.

Ruby seemed to read her expression and started to fiddle with her fingers.

"You can use the tools and materials of the Fifth," Persephone told her with a rather tired voice. "But you and everyone willing to help will be working mostly in your own time."

She sighed again. "Is that's sufficient?" She asked Ruby.

Persephone blinked in surprise when she felt a pair of small arms wrapped around her middle. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ruby exclaimed at a pace that would've made her Rhodian Rose blush.

For a moment, Persephone simply stared down at the smaller girl, then she smiled a bit and chuckled. It was a nice feeling.

"Erh, Ruby?" Asked a surprised voice. Both turned their head instantly towards the entrance of the improvised stable.

Ruby blinked for a moment, than Persephone felt the arms remove themselves from her middle.

"Yang," she said/ asked. A moment later Ruby had reached her sister-figure and jumped against her whilst wrapping her arms around Yang's neck.

"She has given permission, I can build Rhodian Rose!" She yelled whilst somehow whirling both of them around.

It took her a moment before she regained her poise and realised that she had just hugged both her sister and her centurion.

"I'll be off now," she said whilst making a perfect military salute. "Giving Weiss and Blake the good news."

A moment later she was gone.

Yang blinked again and stared at a point behind her, invisible to Persephone due to the canvas walls of the tent.

"What did I just miss?" The daughter of Hercules asked her.

"I just approved of two of your sister's ideas, including Rhodian Rose." Persphone told her whilst mentally focusing upon the idea that Yang was Ruby's sister and not the fact that she was the daughter from one of the heroes in mythology she loathed the most. Well, she had liked Thalia well enough and she had been his sister. That knowledge had made it easy enough to forget Jason's had been his brother as well.

"Ehm, Okay." Yang began, "I'll be ..."

"Off to remind her that training doesn't end for at least another hour." Persephone suggested in a tone which made it clear that Yang should never have even considered another idea. Whether the others liked it or not, Persephone had a reputation as drill sergeant from hell to keep up.

"Yeah, I'll be doing that." Yang said.

"Good." Persephone replied.

* * *

It was a bit over an hour and a half when Persephone climbed the stairs to her mother's temple.

"Hey, mom." She whispered whilst seating herself at the feet of her mother's statue. "It has been a rather mixed day so far." Persephone took her time of telling Juno about the meeting in the senate, Jason's disappearance and the risk she took by warning Nico and having him come here to reassure things. Then she talked about the training and her break at the stables where she met Reyna, how that turned out to and finally about the meeting with Ruby, one of the bright spots that made the day go from shitty to mixed.

"It is building mother, and only the Fates know how long this will go on but everything goes south so fast that I fear we'll be seeing penguins in another day or so." She whispered, only snorting after that last part of her sentence.

"The camp is in shock so far, but I doubt that will last for a lot longer." She continued. "I've already checked the schedules of the guards last night, so I already know nobody in the Fifth should be held responsible for Jason's disappearance, still I am fairly certain most others will."

An annoyed growl escaped Persephone's mouth. "Especially considering what I've planned for tonight." She sighed. "Of all the rotten timing. Still better to get this done with, if I am lucky the camp will still be to numb to react like I fear they will."

"I know your Jason's patron, mother." Persephone whispered, keeping her eyes down. "If you are somehow aware of his whereabouts, tell us, please."

"The camp needs his presence, now more than ever." She continued. "From what I know of Roman history, the Roman's will demand a counterpart for Reyna's power. As it is now, it is bound to be Octavian.

Persephone hesitated for a moment, "Can you give us a sign?" She asked hesitatingly to her mother's representation."Something to reassure the others?"

For a moment, the air seemed to grow colder, as if the to her reassuring atmosphere of her mother's temple had dissolved after her request.

Then almost hesitatingly the apples she had placed upon the altar beforehand lit up and she noticed the flames whirling around with a greater speed than would have been possible in nature. It was only in a flash but then she recognised Jason's sleeping features before those morphed into the visage of other teens. The first was an elfish looking boy, the second was a native looking girl, a daughter of Aphrodite or most likely Venus considering Jason himself was Roman like some part at the back of her mind reminded Persephone. Lastly the flames turned into the shape of an antique looking warship, a trireme or a bigger one with even more benches.

The ship seemed to linger for a bit longer, than it began falling apart and the fire regained a more natural shape before slowly extinguishing.

Persephone blinked in surprise.

"What did it mean?" She wondered. Had Jason been called on a quest? Was this ship his goal, a remnant from the titan wars which had to be destroyed or simply some kind of means for him to get home again? Who were those two others?

She sighed. Her mother had given her a few hints and with it opened a barrel with another ton of questions. She smiled depreciating, why couldn't the Gods ever be clear? Something along the lines of go there and fix that by pressing those buttons.

Still Juno had told her something, most likely more than she had necessarily had to, even if for some reason she had deemed it necessary to hide most of what she knew. However, she knew her mother well enough. Juno usually did what she deemed necessary and very rarely what she actually liked to do. Persephone had already decided she would wait until Jason had actually returned and she knew more before she started to complain.

"Thank you, mother." She whispered, still rather confused over what she saw just before. In reply a warm, comforting feeling filled the air of Juno's temple.

* * *

Several hours later, at a quarter of an hour before midnight.

Dark shades slipped through the night, the black shadows which were the contours of their bodies almost unnoticeable due to the dark cloak of the night in which they seemed to dissolve.

The legionaries who stood upon the ramparts of the camp were tired and languid, their energy since long sapped by the repetition of their task and the lateness of the hour. Most of them were paying more attention to their thoughts about their bed and the memories of the past day, than their assignment. None of them was able to notice the vague shimmer in the darkness which betrayed the movement of the camouflaged raiders. One of them a fifteen years son of Ceres, one of the few members of the Fifth after Persephone had succeeded in minimising the number of guards from her cohort, was walking the prescribed twenty paces up and down the rampart with an obvious lack of attention. His colleague in the nearby tower, a descendant from Pollux, stood there just as tired, nodding off with his head propped up upon the heavy body shield. The first legionary might have had a single second, before he felt a hand close itself forcibly over his mouth and a angry sounding female voice whispered, "You're dead."

The towerguard would have had several more seconds if he had thrown a look to the side and noticed the first guard slump down and another black clad figure race towards the ladder of the tower. A few seconds, plenty of time to reach for the small, metal flute which hung on cord around his neck. He didn't though and if he would have seen the shadow poke his head over the battlements, he still would have lacked the breath to blow the whistle since a lasso had been thrown from below. His fingers were clawing at the rope when he heard a gleeful, male voice whisper "You're dead!" Another moment later he slowly moved his weapon across the legionary's throat, leaving a thin red line behind.

A third legionary from the Fifth, a fourteen years daughter from Mercury doing her tour at the tents tried to reach for her whistle. A hand grabbed her wrist and kept her from bringing it to her lips, another shade placed his sword against her throat whilst wrapping another hand over her mouth. "And another of the Fifth dies tonight!" whispered the shade.

Behind the two dark figures another ten black clothed intruders dropped down from the walls.

One of them, a slender and obviously female figure made a few motions with her weapons, a pair of swords and then pointed to the nearest barracks. The other eleven, nodded as if of one mind and then snuck towards the tents. Each of them moved slowly, but as silently as possible and kept to the shadows far out of the sight from the remaining guards upon the walls and between the barracks. Six doors were slowly pushed open and two shadows snuck into the barracks.

For a single moment each of the two stood next to a bed from a sleeping demigod or goddess. Then they moved to next leaving a thin red line across the throat of the sleeping legionary. It took less than a minute before the twelve had left their first barracks and moved to second of the tent like buildings where another ten demigods lived.

For another twenty seconds everything followed the example of the barracks. The dark clad shapes moved from bed to bed, drawing a red line across the throat from the sleeping demigods with their weapons. Then a younger demigoddess mumbled drowsy and opened her eyes. A loud scream erupted from her before the present shadow noticed what had happened. The shadows now wasted a single moment to look at each other in surprise due to the sound, then they ran towards the door as swift as they could. It was an example which was followed by the rest from the black clad figures in the other barracks.

The twelve exchanged a single look whilst storming out, then the dual-wielding shadow pointed her weapons at one of the rear buildings. The shrine behind the centurion's barracks where the signifiers placed their banners. All around the twelve legionaries from the Fifth streamed out of their barracks, like a water that bursts from a crack into a dam. The twelve exchanged a few slashes with the first legionaries but none of them slowed down to fight, instead they kept running, their goal already decided.

All around them orders were being shouted but there was not so much as a trace of order in the confusion. It was a clear and utter mess, there was no other way to describe it. Even with the much greater numbers of the Fifth cohort they failed to stop the twelve. There was no attempt to block of the passage between the barracks, no attempt to organise the resistance. In fact there was hardly any resistance, most demigods had simply stormed out of their cabin in their pyjamas, unarmed and unprotected as if the noise that called them there was no more than unexpected fireworks show.

This did not mean there was no resistance at all. The Thompsons raced after the twelve with raised spathas whilst exclaiming bloody oaths. The Marshall's, Frank and Hazel took a position next to the walls where eyes shifted between watching the running Twelve and checking the walls for another group of intruders. The three descendants of Epona growled when they noticed a small group of heavily armoured warriors next to the taken tower, their alignment a mystery for a moments due to the lack of light. In front of the Twelve, Ruby and her closest comrades charged the Twelve and took them from the side, which made them succeed in ramming a few of them down. Still none of them was able to prevent the dual wielding shadow from entering the shrine and grabbing their standard.

The rest from the Twelve took a stand in front of the door their swords pointed at the legionaries. There was little beauty in the fight, in truth it was little more than a mêlée, wild and unorganised more suitable for a bunch of ill-disciplined barbarians than legionaries of Rome.

Still it didn't took more than a few seconds before the standard was carried out by the dual wielding swordswoman.

"Enough." Yelled Persephone whilst Yang, seeing their standard in the left hand of the swordswoman, roared ferocious and charged her head on, one fist behind her in preparation for a superhuman punch.

The swordswoman launched her sword at the teenager, slinging it against Yang's belly but without the necessary strength to stop a rampaging bull, let alone the daughter of Hercules.

The swordswoman planted the bronze butspike from the standard into the ground and raised her empty left hand into the air whilst pointing her seemingly empty right-fist at Yang.

She took step back with a circular motion from her leg and a metallic ring resounded. A moment later she felt the swipe from Yang's fist stop at only a few inches from her head whilst a pair of curved blades lay around the Blonde's neck like a pair scissors.

Yang blinked for a moment, then she slowly lowered her fist. In reply the first of the two blades was removed from her neck and dropped.

Then the swordswoman brought her now empty hand to the piece of black cloth which had obscured her face. A quick pull revealed the swordswoman features.

"I said enough, Yang." Persephone whispered angrily.

* * *

"Somebody get some light!" Persephone yelled with a loud and angry voice. Still, the sound was lost in the noise of the mob around her.

Persephone ignored the mass, realising they wouldn't hear her like and instead shoved and pushed herself a way into the direction from her own cabin. Around her the battle had been stopped, each and every one of the demigods now aware that the twelve intruders were legionaries as well. Battle might have been done, that did not mean that the suddenly awoken legionaries were done with the intruders. They shoved, growled and raged against the small group, obviously trying to vend their anger upon them.

The other centurions from the Fifth attempted to calm the legionaries down, but often still half-asleep, rather cowed by the mob and not very fond of Persephone, they did a rather poor job.

Behind the gross of the legionaries, accompanied by subjugated guards, Frank, Hazel and the Marshalls arrived a few from the armoured warriors. The white, ceremonial crest upon their helmets signified them as Reyna's Praetorians, who were accompanied by the sole remaining praetor herself. And she was far from looking happy.

Back in front of her cabin, Persephone had planted a few blocks of wood, the sawn parts from a tree trunk which would serve as a stool in front of a campfire or as fuel for said fire, upon each other.

Persephone raised her curved falcate high above her head, when she brought them down there was the loud, dry sound of wood been forcibly separated. The sight of the wood been separated was enough to silence the closest from the legionaries and made them pause for long enough to look into the centurions eyes. Most couldn't help to take a quick step backwards and kept silent afterwards. The sound and the movement in the crowd was enough to make the rest the mob fall silent as well.

"I said get me some light!" Persephone snarled at the crowd. She pointed her sword at the nearest unlit braziers, grabbed a first half of the wood and threw it amidst of the others pieces of fuel. It was a rather convenient way to get rid of some evidence as well since ordinary blocks of wood usually can't be cut in two by a sword, not even by a falcate. Then again, Persephone hadn't lacked the time to prepare.

"What the Jupiter's name is going on, Persephone?" yelled a voice from the crowd. "What are you playing at?"

Persephone revealed a few white teeth in a rather fierce snarl. Now the centurions dared to raise their voice. She knew her position was hanging by a threat right now, especially since she was the most junior of them and she had been skirting if not outright defying the rules and traditions of the legion from the start. Still so far none of them had dared to point that out, so far. She guessed they did have a bit of instinct then, if they were capable if sensing the vulnerability of her current situation.

"Come out here and ask me in my face, Dakota?" she yelled back.

For a moment the teen remained silent, than an obviously taken aback Dakota slipped through the crowd to the front. The oldest centurion was quite obviously uncomfortable with the fury in the gaze of Juno's daughter.

"Where the fuck is that light?!" Persephone asked at no one specific.

For another moment nothing happened, then one legionary began fumbling with some matches. It took another three seconds to light a paper and drop it amidst the wood and splinters in the brazier.

"What's going on, Persephone?" the son of Bacchus asked again, with a bit more confidence in his voice. "Why did you organise this assault on us?" He paused for a moment, "with these members of the other cohorts?"

"A test." Persephone answered still full of blazing hot anger before her voice turned ice cold. "And you failed, miserably."

"A test?" Dakota repeated. "You don't have the authority to set up this test! Just because we allow you to play war with..."

"And I, Dakota?" Asked another cold sounding female voice.

"Do I have the authority to set such a test up?" asked an equally furious Reyna.

"You have." Dakota admitted, instantly realising he was up to his neck in the metaphorical shit and considering the anger in Reyna's eyes which seemed solely focused upon him, dangerously close to being literally as well.

"Then tell me what reason you have to open your mouth now?" Reyna asked him.

Dakota took a deep breath. "We are the centurions of the Fifth." He said, almost as if trying to remind her. "We should have aware, so we could have prepared and..."

"Jason is gone!" Reyna yelled at him. "One of your praetors is gone, possibly kidnapped due a fault in our security and you have the gall to complain about not being made aware on forehand when that security is tested!"

Reyna stepped forward, her hand raised as if she was about to hit him and everything seemed to scream that she would.

"I didn't see or hear you when Persephone and her volunteers made their way through your lines, when they entered your cabins and when she succeeded in stealing your standard!"

Considering Reyna's expression, Persephone was torn between wondering whether it was a miracle that the praetor did not add, again after her sentence or a merely a testament of the younger teen's self-restraint.

Reyna's hand seemed to waver for a moment, then she turned away with a furious motion.

"Sort your cohort out, Persephone. Before I am forced to do something I might end up regretting!" she snarled.

Persephone gave Reyna a quick salute.

"More light," she ordered the nearest legionary whilst reaching for a thin piece of wood which was already burning in the nearby brazier.

"Yang," she said and pointed her gaze at said legionary. "My sword."

The teen immediately reached for the fallen weapon which had slammed into her stomach earlier.

"I'll start by reminding you what twelve intruders did tonight." Persephone said with a voice that suddenly sounded tired. Somehow every demigod was aware that more than angry, the daughter of Juno was disappointed.

"After taking out the guards, we gained access to twelve barracks until we were discovered. After that we abandoned the cabins and made our way towards the standards. Something you were unable to prevent, instead I as one of these intruders was able to lay a hand upon our standard and even able to take it outside. If instead I had decided to destroy or damage it, none of you would have been able to prevent this.

Most demigods seemed torn between anger and shame at this, without a doubt reminded of the shame of the lost Eagle.

She saw Yang offering the hilt of her sword to her.

"What did this mean to you, except another slur for the cohorts to heap at you?" Persephone asked them whilst opening her hand in Yang's direction waiting for the girl to lay the weapon in the open palm of her hand.

"Stay, Yang!" she ordered the teen with a calm voice. "Step into the light."

Persephone could see the teen frown and step forward. A moment later Persephone gently slapped Yang upon her belly.

"I am sorry, Yang." She said, "but you're dead as well!"

Yang blinked for a moment, than she looked down. There was a red blot upon her belly, the same kind of red which had gleamed upon the edge and tip of the blunt weapons which Persephone and the others had wielded.

All around her, others seemed to look down as well, searching for a trace of red upon their pyjamas, nightgown, shirt or even bare skin.

"Better ask your neighbour to check your neck." Persephone told the crowd, "we've cut a lot of throats when we entered the cabins."

A shiver went through the crowd.

"There were twelve of us," Persephone continued. "All demigods, ask yourself, what if we were monsters and there were more of us?"

"Yang," Persephone said whilst showing her a blood red ribbon which rest in her open hand. Behind Persephone stood another of the black dressed legionaries who had dragged a box filled with these out of Persephone's cabin.

"Tie this one around your throat." She whispered, almost sounding sorry.

Then she continued with a louder voice. "Everyone who died tonight, will wear one of these around his or her throat." She said.

A ragged, but rather muted protest rose from the ranks of demigods beyond the first, visible lines.

"This is not a punishment." Persephone continued. "It is a reminder. For the next week, I want everyone who died to wear this one around his or her neck. I want you to realise exactly what would have happened if I would have been an enemy! I want you to realise exactly how many friends or comrades you would have lost. I want you to see that the boy with who you're eating wouldn't have been here anymore if this had been real. I want you to understand that the features of the girl next to you could have been hidden underneath a shroud for burning."

"The times for playing" Persephone sounded especially disgusted at that last word, " war, is at an end." She yelled.

"Now go and remember what happened, but more importantly remember the faces around you and be grateful that they're still there!"

* * *

"To think I indeed believed the idea insulting to Jason!" Reyna muttered to Persephone across the desk. "You were right, it was necessary."

"A hundred twenty-seven souls," Persephone muttered in return, "a hundred twenty-seven, by the gods."

A hundred twenty legionaries-seven, over three quarter of them killed by a slit throat in their sleep, that was over a quarter from her entire cohort at maximum strength.

"It's even worse than I imagined it would be." Persephone whispered whilst absent-mindedly pawning one of the few remaining ribbons. She wasn't certain what disturbed her more, that number or the vivid reminder afterwards from siblings and friends at the realisation of what could indeed have happened to their loved ones.

Gods, the way Ruby had literally thrown herself upon her sister, despite all the blonde's puns about being undead, an immortal or simply being to awesome to die. She guessed it was indeed the reminder about the people behind the number.

"At moments like these I hate myself," Persephone whispered. "Gods, I do."

"You did the right thing." Reyna reminded her. "If you didn't do it, it might have been a real monster standing next to their bed in couple of nights."

"To think that they paid so little attention, even after Jason's disappearance." Reyna muttered.

"For all we now know, it might not be a monster which has kidnapped him." Persephone reminded her.

"It doesn't matter." Reyna whispered.

"True enough, since it would be better to keep that knowledge on a need to know basis."

"If the Fates are merciful, everything will get better from now on."

Persephone snorted in return. "If the Fates are merciful," she sighed. "they'll have me send no more to die."

Persephone sighed again. Then she raised her head up and looked out of the window. The stars were clear and she almost as in a dream she reached for a piece of fruit and placed that upon a small scale in front of a small copper and silver statue.

"To the huntress." Persephone whispered sadly whilst the fruit combusted.

"Are you all right?" Reyna asked her with a hint of worry in her voice.

Persephone gave her a small smile. "I live, I'll survive."

She felt Reyna reach for her hand.

"I am just tired, not unlike you I am certain." Persephone replied. "Aren't you in need of aid yourself?"

"Like you said. I live, I'll survive." Reyna muttered, then the girl snorted. "Gods, Octavian is going to love tonight. I wonder what kind of fallout this will have."

"If you need my help, just ask." Persephone whispered. "The Fates know you've done more than your share to warrant it."

* * *

 _If you enjoyed the story, would you mind letting me know with a review? I like knowing whether I did something right, or what could have been better if done differently or not at all._


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope everyone enjoys the latest chapter.**

 **Note Laura Jackson is Percy's canon grandmother (according to the wikia)**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the rights of Percy Jackson or any other novel, series of movies, ...**

 **neither do I own RWBY**

 **Though, I do own a lot of thanks to my beta, Lord Protector Corvo Attano, for taking the time to read this through and to clean up my mistakes.**

* * *

"Damn it, Yang!" Persephone yelled whilst slamming her fists down upon the desk. A few feet away from them, one of Reyna's praetorians jumped up due to the unexpected sound. For a moment the boy narrowed his eyes at the centurion of the Fifth and seemed about to open his mouth.

Then he recalled the mood of the daughter of Juno when she charged into the senate building and the rumour that two of his colleagues since this morning had gained an appointment with her in the middle of the arena and he bit his tongue instead.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Persephone roared.

Yang was about to speak up, but Persephone cut her off before she could use the opportunity.

"Don't answer that question, damn it!" Persephone continued. "I know you weren't thinking!"

"It is..." Blake started, but Persephone threw her a glare which implied she would skin her alive and dip every inch of the wounds in salt if she finished the sentence. Blake wisely decided to pipe down instead.

Yang narrowed her eyes at Persephone's reaction and kicked her own chair back whilst she placed her own hands upon the table, exclaiming a loud snarl whilst rising up.

A moment later Persephone landed a punch upon the shoulder of the daughter of Hercules. Another demigod would most definitely have felt some pain upon the impact, but not a descendant from the physical strongest demigod to ever walk the earth.

"Sit... down!" Persephone ordered the teenager with a harsh voice which implied violence if Yang somehow failed to comply instantly.

Yang was about to throw herself across the table right upon her centurion when she felt a small hand upon her shoulder.

Behind her Ruby stared at her older sister-figure with sad eyes, obviously begging Yang to restrain herself. Next to the youngest of the little foursome, Weiss was likewise staring at the blond and whilst obviously worried she tried to maintain her customary impression of iciness, still this did not keep her from mouthing a warning to the teen.

Lastly Blake shook her head, whilst reaching for Yang's hand upon the table.

Yang took a deep breath and then sporting an expression of clear loathing, she sat down again.

Behind Persephone the praetorian ran through the room with a clearly noticeable hand upon the hilt of his sword.

"Do you need some aid with our guests?" He asked with a cold voice which contained a hint of mockery, that last part was something he realised too late.

Persephone had turned her head around in an instant.

"Does it sound like I need help with disciplining my unit?!" She snarled at him, quite obviously looking for an outlet for her current desire to throw or hit something.

She paused for a single moment and took a deep breath.

"Get out of my sight!" She growled whilst closing her fist furiously. "Now!"

Faced with the current situation, the praetorian obeyed his fight or flight-instinct and ran off to some other room.

If someone would have paid attention to Persephone's face they would have seen her lips curl into a small smile at that. Then she took a deep breath herself and turned around again, to face the four legionaries.

"Let's make this fast, shall we?" Persephone asked whilst taking her seat again.

"You four, together with another seven members of Fifth destroyed one of the bars in this city without the excuse of having drunk so much as even a single drop of alcohol." She began whilst supporting her chin with her fist.

She narrowed her eyes at Yang for a moment when she saw the mischievous glint in the blonde's eyes. It was enough to withhold the daughter of Hercules from making a pun or mentioning her actual intake of alcohol that night... or, much more importantly; it withheld her from mentioning how many members of the Fifth actually had been present.

"That's an entire bar which the legion and more specifically the Fifth cohort has to pay to rebuild." She continued, sounding tired.

It isn't as if it is actually our fault." Weiss started.

Persephone raised a single eyebrow in return. "Some legionaries played a game, someone yelled cheat, a fight breaks out and the bar fails to survive." She said with a calm, detached sounding voice.

"Kelly didn't cheat." Ruby whispered, defending the girl who had been called a cheat that night.

Persephone sighed at that. Whether Kelly had cheated or not or whether that Blainey-girl from the Third had simply been a sore loser was something that would never be revealed. The chances of that coming to light had been destroyed, together with the pillars which had supported the roof of Bacchus's Shelter. In truth, it hardly mattered. The fight that followed had supposedly been started when one of Kelly's companions had pushed Blainey away, against the pillar after some more words.

Persephone doubted it mattered whether a member of the Fifth had started to fight or not, even if the members of three other cohorts claimed they had. It was simply one other thing that would never be found out. What mattered was that the members from three cohorts claimed they had been ganged up by the Fifth, who indeed had been present in much greater numbers than the other individual cohorts.

Usually a difference in numbers would have mattered little, since before the Fifth had been too divided and browbeaten to react.

That night however, things had been different. Seeing one of their colleagues set upon by several, mostly older members from the other cohorts whilst the rest if not necessarily participating, at least stood by watching, the present members of the Fifth rose up from whatever corner or shadow they had been seated in. Not thinking, without even a single word which had been exchanged between them, just a soft growl which aired some of their own frustrations and the anger at the rest of the camp before they steered straight to the centre where Kelly, Blainey and the others had been playing.

The battle had commenced nearly instantly, no exchange of insults or threats, no more pushing and shoving around. Just a simple growl and the fastest members of the Fifth threw themselves upon the players and their reinforcements, before the others cohorts and the slower or more far-off members of the Fifth joined in.

Usually the battle would have been short and one-sided, except for the handful of diamonds amidst the so-called coals which populated the Fifth. Not this time though, months of training had hardened the Fifth, shaped them into a force that could face off against the other cohorts without embarrassing themselves. Admittedly, they still weren't up to the standard Persephone had liked them to be, but she could see them getting closer to height she believed them capable of reaching. Persephone wouldn't deny that her opinion of adequate and sufficient, let alone good or even excellent was a tad above the standard which most would associate with said words.

However more than those few diamonds or even the stronger muscles, it was something else that had prompted them to fight and made them continue the battle once it had started.

There was the obvious resentment for the other cohorts of course, Persephone was well aware that the others hadn't toned down their mockery in the past months and now it was also coupled with the fact that the Fifth actually suffered under a much heavier training-regime than the others.

More importantly than this growing resentment was something else, something which had been growing over the time as well, pride.

Each of the Fifth knew they were enduring a heavy training, something they all saw and felt, although the consequences were growing deceptively slow. Still Persephone had made certain they knew about the comparison of their training with those of the others, through sometimes subtle and occasionally less than subtle means.

During those training old friendships had been further reinforced, but just as often teams had been separated, mixed or had been forced to induce one or more new members. As a result the Fifth was no longer a bunch of several hundred individuals haphazardly thrown together. Slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed, a kind of camaraderie had been developed. With that, old friendships tightened up and new friends were added to the small groups. It was them against the world and often enough the world was represented by centurion Persephone and her band of ex-Fifth and from-a-different-cohort-centurions. Did Persephone like that she served as some sort of ogre or bogymen to them? Of course not. Still, it worked well enough to unite the Fifth.

This camaraderie had also developed into a certain tendency of protectivism towards each other, something which was especially focussed upon their younger members. As disturbing as the origin of this protectivism might have been, the red ribbons which had been worn by the 127 victims of Persephone's test for a week afterwards had left a visible reminder of what could have happened.

Still, it made a quite entertaining report to read about Winchester and some of his clowns getting beaten up by "unknown" other members of the Fifth whilst the nearby members of the cohort were somehow asleep, admiring the sunset or otherwise occupied. Persephone was remarkably liberal with compliments towards a small number of the Fifth during the next training though. No official complaint was filed afterwards and it was handled as an internal affair of the Fifth.

In short Persephone was quite pleased with the progress from her cohort.

Even so, months of lifting weights, digging ditches, cutting trees down and throwing up walls and barricades, in short working long and hard, and just as importantly with little free time had left most of them angry, frustrated and with a hare-trigger temper. Seeing someone of their own picked upon made them react instantly and now it was no longer an internal affair for the Fifth which Persephone could have solved or kept under wraps without a lot of effort.

Of course, she couldn't simply let her cohort walk away from the damages, even if the other three most likely would do so with at best a small slap upon the wrists for those of their own which had been involved.

Persephone sighed.

"Considering you four obviously have enough spare time to go brawling," Persephone began, aiming a small glare towards the four, "I'll have you do something fitting in return."

Persephone smirked, she rather liked this solution. "After giving the healers so much extra work, you can repay them by helping them."

Each of the four stared at her curiously, at the moment more mystified than actually angry for the punishment.

"There's a rumour that the healers need some slash-happy no-brains to cut some ambrosia to pieces. After training tomorrow you'll go and find out if it's true. If it is, you'll continue for as long as they want you to. If it isn't, you come back and I find you something else to waste your aggression upon."

Persephone would most likely have surprised them less if she would have told them on the spot she had been a Grecian demigoddess before and a daughter of Poseidon to boot.

She had just ordered them to do one of the most requested tasks in Camp Jupiter, without even trying to separate them! (Whilst relatively boring, the constant scent of favourite foods and possibly memories associated with them and [for some of the younger campers] the opportunity to wield a knife made it easily the most popular task.) And like Weiss had noticed but wisely kept from mentioning, Persephone had at no point made a mention of them paying the cohort back for the damages done.

Furthermore none of the four was aware that Persephone knew for certain that the healers required someone to cut the ambrosia. One of the reforms she had suggested and which had been adopted were smaller, more measured doses of ambrosia which were kept in small tubes for protection unlike the rather large cubes which were kept in wrappers like pieces of chocolate.

Persephone noticed both Blake and Weiss were staring at her curiously, then very slowly she saw Blake's lips crease into a small smile. Ruby and Yang on the other hand were a lot easier to read, both were very pleasantly surprised, but no less curious.

"You can go now." Persephone told the four. "Tell the next four idiots to get in!"

All four "idiots" nodded and turned around, not able to see Persephone's lips curl into a small smirk of her own.

"Oh, and if anyone asks what happened in here," Persephone seemed to suggest upon an obviously fake casual tone, "you can tell them I punished you, yelled at you and even hit one of you."

Blake was the only one who turned around whilst the other ones were walking to the door, she still sported half a smile upon her lips.

"I'm certain Yang has already forgiven you for that hit." She replied.

Persephone made a dismissive motion with her hand in return.

* * *

"Why did I forgive her already?" Yang asked Blake curiously, sounding rather confused. The teen brushed one hand over her shoulder. "Not that she hit me that hard of course."

Almost like an afterthought, she added. "I know she can hit a lot harder than that."

Next to them Weiss halted her stride her for a second and blinked in surprise, than she too allowed a small smile to form.

"Didn't you two notice anything off to what happened?" Blake asked the two with a voice that was barely above a whisper.

"Apart from her acting like a bitch?" Yang asked her. "I mean several levels above how she usually acts."

Blake sighed in return. "Apart from that, Yang."

"She tuned that down quite a lot after that praetorian left." Weiss mentioned seemingly casually.

"Yeah, she did." Ruby interjected. "Her behaviour seemed a bit off."

Ruby stiffened for a second, by the next she had turned her head with a lightning speed towards the two.

"You think it was an act?" She exclaimed, the loudness of her voice a stark contrast with the earlier whispering.

"Obviously." Weiss confirmed.

"Although I wouldn't call it an act." Blake added.

"Though perhaps you should just yell through a megaphone once we're done whispering!" Weiss added piqued whilst staring at Ruby. "You dolt."

"Sorry." Ruby whispered rather demurely.

"Erh, what's exactly going?" Yang asked the two. "I get that the centurion wasn't in her usual behaviour, but why?"

"She wanted to appear angry, furious even." Blake told Yang. "Some random insults, that punch, how she behaved when she had a witness for her behaviour ..."

"Let's not forget the punishment she gave us, or rather the lack of proper punishment." Weiss added.

"She didn't even force us into a duel or so." Blake continued.

"At first it seemed very strange she didn't even care to hear our version of the story." Weiss said, whilst Ruby winced, that notion brought back some bad memories with previous centurions.

"She already knew what happened, or at least she had an inkling about it." Yang whispered with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Indeed," Weiss continued. "At first, I assumed the other cohorts had forced her to bow to their demands for punishment."

At this point Blake smiled.

"It is kind of obvious," she paused for a moment, "to us, that this isn't the case."

Weiss smirked for a moment. "But without a doubt everyone who has seen that praetorian or anyone else who was somehow in the vicinity will think otherwise."

"So she didn't want to punish us, or the rest." Yang said slowly, as if solving a difficult riddle. "But she needed to make most believe otherwise, damn."

"Politics, obviously." Weiss said with a calm voice. "No doubt the other cohorts are spitting nails about what happened. Guess she felt like she had to trick them."

"So we got to complain loudly about," Yang paused for a moment to exclaim with a loud voice; " that bitch! And that damned punishment!" before continuing upon the same rather thoughtful tone as earlier. "Politics, my head feels as if it is lit on fire."

"Basically…Yes." Blake admitted. "Nice job there, Yang."

"I aim to please." Yang replied with a broad smile. "Strange though, she didn't seem like the type to mix with politics." She added afterwards. "Guess that's compulsory if you're a daughter of Juno."

Weiss rolled her eyes in return. "She's a centurion, she supposed to deal with the politics, Yang."

* * *

"Centurion ...Persephone... Laura...Jackson." Snarled a cold sounding voice.

Said teenager who had only just finished dismissing the last participants of the brawl raised her head with a smile. "Rank and full name. Damn, that's called trouble." She replied with a rather cheeky smile.

"Hey, Reyna." She continued upon the same happy tone before throwing an exaggerated look upon her watch. "Either this thing is broken or you're exceptionally early."

"Someone seems rather happy." Reyna muttered, obviously not sharing the same feeling.

Persephone sighed and despite the seemingly exaggeration of the gesture, this was no act. She actually was that exhausted after the performance during the past hours.

She raised a single hand and closed her eyes whilst leaning back into her chair.

"A moment, please." She whispered.

Reyna hesitated for a moment, then she too sighed and placed both her hands upon the table.

She waited for a while, simply staring at the smiling Persephone who simply leaned back and obviously enjoyed the moment of silence.

"Thank you," She whispered after she opened her eyes again and focused her chocolate-coloured orbs upon Reyna's features.

"You're welcome." Reyna replied hastily.

"I'm surprised you're already aware." Persephone told her. "Should I offer my compliments or should I be worried about any mistakes I made?"

"One of the healers mentioned four of your legionaries being ordered to help with the supply of ambrosia in their schedule, their names stood there as well."

Persephone sighed at that. "Damn," she whispered. "I told them to wait till tomorrow."

She shook her head in return.

"Who else knows?" She asked.

"Only those with direct access to the main-schedule of the hospital. Just me and several of the chief-healers." Reyna replied, obviously annoyed with Persephone's response. "It was purely coincidental."

Persephone sighed in return. "Well, _that's_ a relief." She muttered. Most of those she had met in the hospital had been nice enough, and more importantly in this case, the high-ranking members of the hospital had seemed to place their loyalty to Aesculapius above their loyalty to their own cohort.

She fixed her eyes again upon Reyna.

"I take it you disapprove?" She asked Reyna, offering the teen a compassionate smile.

"I take it you're rather proud of what you did?" Reyna asked her in return.

Persephone stared at her for a moment, then she nodded.

"I am." She admitted.

Persephone sighed. "I take it, you can understand my point? You know why I skirted the laws?"

Reyna nodded.

"Would you have acted different in my place?" Persephone asked her.

"Honestly, I doubt I would have done so if I could have gotten away with it." Reyna admitted.

Persephone chuckled. "I'd stake good money on it that you could."

"I take it, you can see my point as well?" Reyna asked her rather sharply.

"I do." Persephone admitted. "

Both sighed for a moment.

"You know they're doing exactly the same thing as I just did." Persephone reminded her.

In return, Reyna's hand grasped one of the nearby pencils as if it was a dagger.

"I know." Reyna muttered through her teeth, obviously furious. "Only they're not as subtle about it."

"Did you really expect me to be the bigger person?" Persephone asked her.

Reyna sighed. "In a way, perhaps. Mostly I am disappointed that this actually happened."

Persephone chuckled in return. "You run a camp with nearly five thousand teens and some other ages and you're surprised they ruin a bar? You sweet summer-child."

Reyna only looked angrily in return.

"Do you want me to limit the amount of times your cohort is allowed into the city?" Reyna replied, muttering a threat both knew she wouldn't enact anyway.

"I wonder how many of the other cohorts made that request already?" Persephone asked, well more like thought out loud.

"Two requests since this morning." Reyna provided.

"Well, the day is still rather young." Persephone remarked sarcastically, which made Reyna snort in return.

Both kept silent for a few moments after that.

"We both knew it was only a matter of time before such a fight began." Persephone told her eventually, returning to the heart of the matter.

"Yeah, it was." Reyna admitted. "But was it really that bad that I hoped it wouldn't?"

"I wouldn't have minded being wrong and you right, if that's what you're asking?" Persephone said.

Reyna sighed. "You're not exactly unhappy about the outcome?" She noticed, a conclusion which had annoyed her since she had reached it earlier.

Persephone snorted in return.

"I spend the past, what three? four months? with training the Fifth, desperately trying to instil them with some sense of camaraderie and pride." Persephone reminded her.

She paused for a moment to chuckle. "This is the first time they're actually standing up for themselves against the other cohorts."

Persephone pretended to rub her right eye. "I think I am getting all mist-eyed. It's the emotions, you see?"

She laughed openly. "If only I had a picture of the outcome."

Persephone sighed again and sank back into her chair. "I couldn't be happier or for what it is worth, prouder upon my cohort."

"I am certain you're the only girl in the world who's proud because her wards tore an entire bar down." Reyna muttered.

Persephone chuckled again. "Say it as many times as you like, you won't make it feel any worse for a while."

Reyna shook her head in return.

Persephone smiled again whilst extending a hand. "Come on." She whispered. "This calls for a celebration, I offer you a drink."

The teen chuckled when she noticed Reyna's expression, she also made it a point to act as if she remained oblivious from it. "Hmm, it might take a while until Junior reopens his Bacchus's. Tifa's is the closest then, unless of course, Yang destroyed that one as well."

"At times," Reyna muttered. "I think I can hate you."

"What, too soon?" Persephone asked her, it didn't help Reyna's mood that Persephone had remained chuckling.

Reyna sighed. "How many bars are there in this city?" She muttered, asking herself.

"Like I said, a city filled with teens." Persephone reminded her, obviously to cheerful to care for Reyna's temper.

* * *

"So how are you actually doing?" Persephone asked Reyna whilst staring at the girl.

"Well enough," Reyna muttered which made Persephone sigh.

"You know, it might actually save you some time if you answer my questions without spouting obvious half-truths and lies." Persephone replied without a hint of annoyance.

Persephone wasted a moment to chuckle. "Even if you remember to keep Aurum and Argentum away from this kind of conversations."

"You've been in a similar position haven't you?" Reyna asked, whilst ignoring Persephone's last remarks, although it sounded more like she merely reminded herself.

"I have," Persephone reminded her, "and whilst not as bad as before, I still do."

Reyna chuckled wearily. "True, sorry about that. How are the other centuries dealing with your command?"

"They loath the very ground I walk upon." Persephone told her dryly. "It won't be long now before they start praying to Gaia in the hope that if they besiege her ears for long enough, she might have the earth swallow me up whole."

"That well, huh?" Reyna asked her. "We do what we must, not what we like to do or what they would have liked us to do."

"Some of them feel more than a little insulted that you made the most junior centurion their superior." Persephone reminded her. "It also might have something to do with my standards for their training."

Reyna glared after that remark. Unorthodox and impulsive as her decision might have been, after the utter disaster that Persephone's testing of her cohort had been, the other officers of the Fifth had lost most of what little sympathy she had remaining for them. She knew that her own rage at them had more to do with Jason's disappearance than their failings, still even the greatest lawyer would be hard pressed to dispute her judgement after that letdown.

"I'm not blaming you for anything you said or did that night, Reyna." Persephone whispered. "I truly don't, but I do wish you had been a bit more tactful."

Persephone chuckled a moment later and raised her can of Pepsi as in a toast. "Then again, that's most likely a severe case of the pot calling the kettle black."

There was a visible tug at the corner of Reyna's mouth after those words."

"Trust me, you've caused me a great deal of headaches." Reyna muttered, still the tone was light enough that it contained more warmth than actual venom.

Persephone in return chuckled at the idea of Reyna having dedicated a large number of thoughts to her, a more mischievous and definitely un-Roman attribute of her did not hesitate in her reminding Reyna to that with exactly those words.

A daughter of Aphrodite or Venus would most likely have known at least a dozen of words to describe the stammering praetor, Persephone kept it simply upon "adorable".

Still rather than actually being angered or insulted, Persephone could see that Reyna's mood had been lightened.

"Did you do these kind of things a lot before?" Reyna asked her.

"Before?" Persephone repeated curiously.

"As in before you came to Camp Jupiter?" Reyna elucidated.

Persephone paused for a moment, so far she had kept silent about what she did before she had gotten into camp Jupiter. She sighed, then again, so far this had been the first time she had actually seen Reyna in a light mood.

"I wasn't as important there as I am here." Persephone said. "Certainly, I was responsible for a huge chunk of the training and somehow I was involved with most quests, raids and skirmishes outside of the camp." The teenager paused to take another sip from her drink.

"However once we entered the camp and there was no monster in sight or no training going on, than I was mostly free."

"That sounds awfully unorganised." Reyna remarked.

"It was." Persephone admitted. "We entered The War in terrible shape. We had lost most of the older campers before or during the early days of the conflict."

Persephone gave a dry chuckle. "Truth to be told, before my arrival here, I hadn't even seen a single demigod past twenty-five. I am already older than I hoped to become in the third year of The War."

"You were optimistic." Reyna whispered sarcastically but very surprised.

"In those days none of us truly was. We fought, we hoped, we prayed and enjoyed what little time we expected to have before Mors came to reap his harvest."

Persephone sighed again. "So yes, we had fun, lots of fun but it was mostly because we were desperately trying to have fun, to find something which would distract us from the ensuing storm."

Than Persephone chuckled. "The truth is though, that third year was when the wheel finally began to turn, us demigods had already reached our nadir and after that we began to move up."

Reyna trained her ears at the words of her friend.

"In a way, it was not to unlike the Fifth here. Except there was no scapegoat among us, only an enemy around us which wanted nothing more than our destruction." Persephone continued.

"We had already endured two major attempts from the Titans to destroy us when the third year arose, that reassured us. They had tried and failed, they could be beaten even if the gods themselves were less like a help than a hindrance." Persephone sniggered after that. "We were angry, furious even, but mostly desperate. I no less than the others, but we had made the decision to live like a demigod rather than mourn our chance to live like a mortal."

Persephone smirked after those words. "We were only a handful at first, mostly the sons and daughters of War, but there were also some others kids like myself. If someone else would tell you about those days they most likely spin a tale about defiance, heroism and glory."

Persephone paused to take another sip. "All nonsense, invented by those who weren't there at the time." Persephone continued with a sneer.

"Still, occasionally we even believed it ourselves." She sighed again. "It was brutal, desperate and bloody. We were kids with only what little training and weaponry we could scrounge up for ourselves, what we were was angry and afraid. That it didn't end in a disaster was more luck than anything else."

"Still we learned and remembered. After every battle we returned home, bloodied and weary, often not without wounds or scars, but always with more experience than before. We learned how empousa tended to drag one leg when walking and how this caused them to lower their shields for a moment, we realised that Dracanae often had difficulty to keep their balance, a lastrygonian tends to expose his arm and part of his chest due to his habit of chopping down with his weapon. We learned all of that and taught it to the others. We searched in ancient books and scrolls for techniques, strategies and formations and tested them, adopting those we found useful."

"You really had no one teaching you or leading you?" Reyna asked her obviously chocked.

"We had some babysits, if that was what you meant." Persephone huffed, although she sighed a moment later. "No, that's just me being too harsh."

"Brunner taught us what he could and tried to instruct us as well as he could, but his task was way too big for him. He's a peerless instructor in his way, but his pupils train for several years if not a decade under his supervision, and not" Persephone made an annoyed motion with her left-hand, "a couple of months before getting dumped into the deep end."

"About the rest, generally the less said the better." Persephone whispered, her thoughts firmly fixed upon a certain leopard-skin wearing son of Zeus.

"So how was my time during the War? Brutal, stressful, exhausting, confusing, worrisome..." Persephone paused for a moment, "and beautiful."

Persephone smiled at Reyna after those words. "As bad as it was, there was no less happiness in those years than there were bad days."

"Sitting around a campfire, underneath the stars, some of us with an instrument, playing, others singing. You make some jokes or recall memories with the ones around you. You're leaning against someone you trust or even the one you like," Persephone whispered whilst staring of in the distance.

"You had someone you liked?" Reyna asked her curiously.

Persephone blinked instantly.

The girl hesitated for a moment. "I... I'd prefer not to think about that for now."

Persephone sighed and continued with a soft, obviously regretful voice. "It did not end beautifully, or anything close to the way I wished it had."

Reyna bowed her head in return. "I'm sorry," she whispered rather demure. "It sounds you did had some happiness before, despite..."

Reyna sighed and decided it might be better to let whatever it was she might have said would be better if it was left unsaid.

"I had." Persephone whispered a bit hoarse. "One day I'll find it again."

"There are gardens here, some of them are quite beautiful." Reyna suggested to her.

"I doubt I'd appreciate that upon my own." Persephone whispered.

Reyna hesitated for a moment. "I'll be visiting the garden of Bacchus tomorrow evening." She suggested. "I can't promise jokes or music, but I'd appreciate the company."

"I'd prefer the company over the others." Persephone admitted.

Both remained silent for a while after that, each of them lost in their own memories and thoughts.

"How is the situation with the politics where I am not involved?" Persephone asked her.

"As much as I'd love to tell you about them..." Reyna began.

"You'll have to kill me afterwards?" Persephone finished impishly, although perhaps not as happy as it might have been without the reminder to Annabeth.

Reyna rolled her eyes in reply. "You're more likely to be begging me to end your suffering, you'd be bored to tears."

She sighed. "If I ever discover who approached the Triumvirate for a loan," She whispered angrily. "I'll personally lead an attack on the nearest zoo to capture their lions. Just for the pleasure of unleashing them on him in the arena."

"The Triumvirate?" Persephone asked her with narrowed eyes.

"You know them?" Reyna asked her.

"I know of them." Persephone corrected her with angry glint in their eyes. "They're the leaches who supplied the armies of the Titans with maybe half of their weaponry."

"You know of them indeed." Reyna replied with a deceptively calm voice.

"Unfortunately." Persephone admitted. "I wished I didn't though. I met a few of their people," Persephone paused to snort. "It took days before I felt clean again."

"Further, there are some troubles with some of our allies." Reyna continued. "Most of them always seemed lukewarm at best, but there is something off nowadays."

"It worries you." Persephone noticed. "I take it goes a bit beyond merely some troubles."

Reyna cocked her head for a moment, then she sighed. "I am afraid I can't tell you more about that for moment."

"Please don't try." She added afterwards.

Persephone nodded. "Than what can you tell me about our allies? Without going deeper into the forbidden zone, of course."

"Why?" Reyna asked her in return.

Persephone leaned back for a moment and made a nonsensical motion with her hand. "Honestly, because it mystifies me. I spend half my time in the war hoping that at some point at least some of the monsters would end up switching sides."

Persephone took another sip of her drink.

"Unfortunately." She admitted. "That never happened. Apart from the occasional arrival from some followers of a God or Goddess and the like, we stood mostly on our own."

Persephone chuckled for a moment. "To tell you the truth, my experience with monster is that they flee when they're beaten and turn into dust, blood and trophies if killed. I've never heard of any of them surrendering, offering an alliance or merely suggesting a truce, except for more than a few minutes."

Reyna paused for a moment. "In all honestly it was mostly tradition, I'd guess." She admitted, clearly thinking hard about the answer.

"I'm not going to say it was easy," Reyna continued. "We had to work hard, beat them, time and time again. Occasionally, after a battle some of them surrendered, swore they would fight for us."

"Most of the time," Reyna said, momentarily cringing. "It wasn't that nice."

Reyna took a sip of her own drink. "What happened was more between making them pick between total annihilation and fighting in our service."

"Any benefits for them?" Persephone asked her.

The way Reyna laughed at that question, fitted someone with a painful toothache.

"Guess our methods were not that different." Persephone admitted.

Reyna gave her a sad smile. "I guess not."

"Any chance of well," Persephone hesitated for a moment. "Trying to persuade the monsters that it might actually be more beneficial to remain allies rather than simply take it as an opportunity to catch a breath before putting a dagger in our back?"

"Seeking peace rather than war, such an un-Roman answer." Reyna whispered. "And that for the Monster-slayer."

Reyna chuckled for a moment afterwards. "Fortunately for you, an answer I tend to agree with. I've wondered about the same thing." Reyna admitted.

"I fought my way through the Titan-Wars." Persephone reminded her with a wry smile, before sighing and staring at her own hands. "I'd prefer to think that that I was actually changing something rather than partaking in an endless, bloodstained loop."

"To hear that we're simply repeating the same mistakes," Reyna whispered. "That must be a galling thought."

"It is." Persephone whispered.

"I fear that is just one of many problems which won't be solved for a while." Reyna admitted. "The entire Roman system is designed to slow down changes."

She sighed. "And besides, it is not as if there aren't a lot of people who profit from the situation as it is."

Remembering the Triumvirate, as well as some of the leaders of the monster-armies and demigods she had met before, Persephone nodded.

"How are you doing with the rest of the Fifth under your direct command?" Reyna asked her.

Persephone chuckled softly. "Most likely a lot easier than you're thinking Reyna." She replied. "But your concern is appreciated."

How is that?" Reyna asked her curiously.

"Whether they're aware of it or not," Persephone said. "most of my own century and a few outside of it have already picked my side."

She chuckled. "It is not as much the Fifth against me as you fear it is."

Persephone paused a moment to brush her hand through her hair. "In truth, my biggest worry is to keep them from lowering their guard. It wouldn't do to have them settle for a standard which is below my expectations."

"At least that's good to hear." Reyna added.

Persephone sighed for a moment. "Can you use my help for something else than handling the Fifth?" She asked her.

"Perhaps," Reyna admitted. "Why?"

"If you mean why I asked it like that," Persephone thought. "Because you're too stubborn to accept help if I would simply offer it, but you wouldn't hesitate for a second if I made it seem like I am bored and in need of some work."

"Because as much as a chore dealing with the Fifth will be, I have it covered for now." Persephone told her.

"Paperwork?" Reyna asked her.

"I've found a poor vict... an optio to who I can delegate most of the more mundane work." Persephone admitted.

Reyna rolled her eyes at Persephone's phrasing. She had learned some time ago that despite Persephone's obvious attempts to bait her and occasional attempts to manipulate the system, the girl was no less conscientious in performing her duties to the best of her abilities.

"Who?" She asked, rather than reacting upon the bait.

"Weiss Schnee." Persephone replied.

Reyna cocked her head. "Wasn't she one of the girls who helped to tear down the bar?" Reyna asked Persephone curiously, still making an effort not to rise to the bait.

"She is." Persephone admitted, still daring her to react to the obvious bait. When that didn't happen the older teen allowed an obviously exaggerated sigh to escape her lips.

"She is easily one of the most stuck-up members of my cohort and a stickler to the rules to boot." Persephone admitted. "The Ice Princess is a brilliant swordswoman though, an exemplary disciplinarian with an excellent eye for order, a rather impressive glare and about as intelligent as she is stubborn and ambitious."

Persephone chuckled for a moment. "She isn't centurion-material, yet. But I have no doubts we'll have to offer her the vine cane in a couple of years or so."

Persephone gave Reyna a reassuring smile. "I'll keep an eye out of course, but I know she'll do fine."

"Besides," Persephone continued. "It is not as if Drew and the others simply quit working if I ain't there to keep an eye upon them."

"Does that mean I will receive less complaints because you're about to stop instituting untraditional methods in your cohort?" Reyna deadpanned.

Persephone chuckled again. "Not a chance."

Reyna gave Persephone a smirk. "I see. So that speech about your velites being light infantry meant they were more than poorly equipped legionaries with a fancy name," Reyna started.

The praetor was instantly cut off by a blushing Persephone. "You heard that one, errh?" She asked.

Reyna nodded in return, evidently pleased about the turning of the tables.

"Well, they are. I am not taking anything back of what I said." Persephone said defensively. "Just because my predecessors lacked the imagination and the patience to come up with some decent ways to incorporate training and tactics which suited them, rather than lazily having them bombard the enemy from afar doesn't mean I have to."

"I never said you have to." Reyna told her with a poorly hidden smile. "I suggest you ask Whitfield for advice, the Seventh already incorporated some of the ideas you seem to promote."

"Then again," Reyna continued. "Since he took command, the Seventh has been all about being the best, the most aggressive and cetera."

"I might do so." Persephone admitted. "Especially since I aim for the same."

"What are you actually planning to change about the current approach?" Asked Reyna curiously.

"It lacks ambitions for the velites." Persephone told her. "All they're expected to do is whittle the enemy down with missiles whilst they're being protected by the legionnaires. At most they're allowed to scout or protecting the flanks of the legion."

"They're light infantry, which means they move faster than the legionaries, can reach places which the heavies can't and fight enemies which would run circles around the legionaries if it wasn't for them." Persephone continued. "They're not the rejects of the cohort, they're another weapon which covers what otherwise would have been a major flaw."

"I think I can recall some of that speech you gave them earlier." Reyna whispered teasingly.

She chuckled. "And there is that blush again." She thought whilst the otherwise pale cheeks from the Centurion of the Fifth indeed turned red.

"Can you stop recalling my words, please?" Persephone whispered.

Reyna smiled in return.

"Well I was quite impressed by the way you defended your stretch-bearers." Reyna added.

"And I stand behind what I said." Persephone repeated. "They are supposed to be _some kind of elite_."

Reyna could tell that Persephone had indeed remembered the remark of one of the senators.

Truth to be told, Reyna and more importantly the medical staff had supported her idea. If you expected a group of people to throw themselves into the middle of combat with no more protection than a dagger or a sword and a thin piece of leather whilst helping the wounded get to safety, you deserved a bit more than to be called failed legionaries. And considering Persephone had expected them to have some medical knowhow of their own, it was equally obvious that she intended them to be quite a bit more than merely transports to the hospital.

That was one of the main problems of most of Persephone's ideas. It wasn't that they were impossible, but they were extremely demanding from both from the subjected demigods as well as their teachers and even more importantly, the worldview that was generally dominant in Camp Jupiter.

"You're not teaching them?" Reyna asked her.

"I could do that most likely," Persephone admitted. "And it's not as if I am planning to abandon them. But I am aware that there are others who are better suited for teaching those skills."

"And you'd like me to fill the gap in your time?" Reyna asked her, repeating the earlier question.

"No, I simply believe you could use the help." Persephone thought whilst replying, "Well I could simply take some time off, visit that shop Drew keeps going on about."

"I'll find something to keep you busy with." Reyna told her.

"And here I was looking forward to a nice outfit." Persephone added with a teasing smile.

* * *

"How's the boy doing?" Clarisse asked the daughter of Aphrodite with a tired voice.

The girl, Melody, a rather sleep deprived looking blonde raised her head up for a moment before she placed the knife in her hand upon the table with a meticulousness that belonged to someone who was extremely tired and well aware of the fact.

"He's asleep now." Melody said with a tired voice, "The wound will leave a small scar upon his thigh but the ambrosia kept it from getting infected by the dirt."

Clarisse nodded, whilst her boyfriend gifted the teen with an encouraging smile which wouldn't have been out of place upon the face from one of the nurse's half-brothers.

"You've done well." Chris told her whilst placing his hand upon her shoulder. Unknown to the daughter of the Olympian of love, the boy gave his girlfriend a small kick against her chin.

Obviously distracted, Clarisse blinked for a moment, then she muttered a soft "Good job."

"I'm no healer, just a seamstress. A child of Apollo could have spared him the scar." She whispered depreciating.

"But they didn't heal him, you did." Clarisse reminded her with a hard voice.

"You were capable of keeping his sister's hart from stopping and him from bleeding out." Chris reminded her with an understanding tone in his voice. "You did more than anyone could have demanded of you."

For a moment Clarisse felt a bit of annoyance flicker, especially once she saw the girl's smile brighten up. She repressed the same feeling instantly, she was tired, but not so far gone that she would begrudge her own boyfriend for being capable of helping and understanding people when she most of the time seemed only capable of tearing them down. Nor would she take her anger out upon a girl who had obviously been running herself equally ragged with worries and actual exertion.

She was better than that, she knew that as well. Still it was so easy to fall back into the habit of tearing people down.

"Did you speak with Maria?" Clarisse asked her. Remembering the daughter of Apollo who had joined her older brother when the Children of War left Camp Half-Blood to set up their own camp.

So far the two were the only children of the Golden Archer who had joined their outpost. Both siblings had been healers during the War and occasionally they had served as archers as well. They had been good in both regards, but far from exceptional.

Still they had been the only truly experienced healers in their outpost and Clarisse had instantly made them set up a small hospital. With only two healers though, it only took a minor confrontation to swamp them with work. So they had started to train some of their assistants, nurses or otherwise volunteers to take care of the minor wounds. Whilst this saved lives, the lesser skill and lack of healing talent of these nurses often meant that their patients retained some reminders of their misfortune.

Clarisse didn't blame them, the boys and girls did what they could but they had limits. It was far from fair to blame them for scars when they had been the only one capable of sewing a wound back together, because the only other healers were busy keeping a spine from breaking or battling the poison from a monster's fang. Of course it wasn't as if the hospital from Camp Half-Blood had abandoned them, however if minutes and even seconds mattered, you couldn't wait until the pegasi with healers arrived.

"I haven't talked to Maria, since I returned from the patrol." Melody admitted.

"Just do." Clarisse told her. The daughter of Ares knew that Melody and her patrol had found the siblings and their satyr whilst scouting the nearby roads. The siblings and their friends had been ambushed by a group of Empousae earlier, upon whose arrival their guide had panicked.

The result had been a rather one-sided battle which ended up killing most of the newbie-demigods. Most of them probably didn't even get to know the name of their Godly Parent before they died.

The oldest of the pair, a girl who couldn't have been more than twelve had been unconscious from drowning before Melody had managed to revive her. Her brother had been shot by an arrow whilst fleeing; the rather rusty looking arrow had torn a bigger hole in his flesh with every step. Clarisse half suspected they had allowed him to keep running as some kind of sick joke. Perhaps a bet, the one who's the closest to predicting when he'll faint wins some drachmas or the like.

Melody's patrol had picked up the trail of the monsters after finding the girl and ended up finding the boy as well. There was a small chance that more survivors could be found, although in truth Clarisse wasn't holding her breath. Still the rest of Melody's patrol was still hunting the monsters and so were now several more patrols filled with volunteers. From what she had learned from Melody's bodyguard earlier, it seemed that they would catch up with the monsters in a matter of an hour at most. And if she was honest that was worrying her, although not for the reasons most would have come up with first.

The siblings had only been a few miles from her camp. It hadn't been since the earlier days of the Second Titan War that monsters had dared to remain so close to a reinforced position from the demigods with such small numbers.

Clarisse hoped this small band had been an exception, some suicidal fools or idiots who had to pick up their mail in Tartarus or whatever the way was that monsters thought.

Because if it wasn't, there was no way she could prevent many newbies from dying.

"What do you think?" Clarisse asked Chris.

The son of Hermes nodded at his girlfriend, well aware of what she was thinking.

"It reminds me of the earlier years." He admitted to her. "I don't like their sudden fearlessness."

He sighed. "It is however, definitely something we should mention to the others." Chris continued.

"Do you think they might know the reason of their sudden dismissal of our spears?" Clarisse asked her.

"I doubt that." Chris told her whilst shaking his head. "Something like that is too important to not warrant a mention."

The teenage son of Hermes smiled at the Daughter of Ares. "For all we know this is an exception and we're blowing hot air for nothing." He added with a rather hopeful voice.

Clarisse shook her head at those words. "I think not." She said. "There is a tension in the air since Persephone's disappearance, I can feel war approaching."

Chris nodded at her words. He was no son of war, but he understood what she meant, in a way, he suspected he felt the same even if it wasn't as clear to him.

The thoughts of both Campers were interrupted by a soft, but noticeably accented voice from behind them.

"Eerhm, I am sorry, but I think I have news I think you should hear." Said the see-through image from the red haired daughter of Nike.

"Hey Pyrrha," replied Chris with a friendly voice whilst turning around, Clarisse followed a moment later.

"Pyrrha." Said Clarisse with a grumble although she realised her mistake almost instantly and tried to make up for her earlier voice with a small smile.

"How's the situation at the main camp?" Asked Clarisse whilst tensing her muscles, obviously preparing for another load of bad news.

"Rather well actually," Replied the daughter of Nike and if rumours were correct, the grand-daughter of Thetis, with a noticeable haste.

Unlike a large number of the children from the so-called lesser gods, Pyrrha Nikos had remained loyal to Camp Half-Blood and her friends, siblings and the numerous "cousins" sheltered behind its borders during the Second Titan War. During those days Pyrrha had quickly risen up to the camp's top ranks as a combatant, only second after a very select number of demigods like Perspehone, Clarisse, Thalia and Beckendorf. However apart from a combatant, Pyrrha had been no less important as one of their trainers and teachers. Where Persephone, Clarisse, Thalia and so many others had been forced to teach fast, blunt and harsh, Pyrrha's nature had withheld her from doing same. Instead she had taught with a care and patience which the War hadn't allowed the others to afford. She had been the soft, velvet glove which gently steered the younger campers in the right direction if a push from the harsh, steel glove which were most of the other trainers failed to do the trick.

Unlike a lot of the other Children of War, Pyrrha had remained in the main-camp where she kept teaching her pupils (and/ with her boyfriend). Still this hadn't made her an outcast among the Children of War of which most had left with Clarisse. She simply kept an eye upon things in the camp for them and spoke up for Ares favourite Daughter and the others when they couldn't. Or like now she made them aware of what went on in there, so they were not forced to rely upon the occasional Iris-message from Chiron and the other leaders of the camp.

"Did that satyr arrive in Camp Half-Blood?" Clarisse asked her with a noticeable growl.

"Satyr?" Pyrrha asked her in return, obvious without an idea of what the Head of the Children of War was about.

Realising that since Pyrrha had no idea about a satyr, the poor idiot had most likely died somewhere in the ambush and therefore had not abandoned his charges to save his own life, Chris laid a hand upon his girlfriend's shoulder in an attempt to sooth her.

Clarisse took a deep breath before sighting after that.

"We found a group of newbie-demigods ambushed due to a satyr's incompetence." She whispered angrily. "Only two survived."

Behind her Chris wrapped his arms around her. Clarisse sighed again.

"I... I am sorry." Pyrrha whispered clearly taken aback.

"It is not your fault, even if you had been here, there is nothing you could do except to prepare the shrouds or hunt their assailants." Muttered Clarisse.

Pyrrha's image nodded.

"Rachel spouted a prophecy." Pyrrha told her, returning to the reason of her call. "I've sent Jaune to learn the exact phrasing, but it is about a missing half-blood." She said, before quickly adding, "And one sandal."

For a moment Clarisse stood there as if Zeus had struck her with his biggest bolt of lightning.

"Chris," Clarisse whispered whilst turning her head almost mechanically, "I'll be leaving for Camp Half-Blood. Finish up whatever has to be done here and then join me there."

The boy gave her playful salute.

"Jaune will be here in..." Pyrrha suggested, although without much conviction.

"I'll be hearing the prophecy from Rachel myself," Clarisse interjected whilst she reached for her spear. The moment her fingers closed themselves around the wood a loud crack was heard and the tip of her weapon's blade became surrounded by lighting.

"Even if I have to drag the words from her mouth myself." She continued with a growl.

Behind her Chris chuckled for a moment.

"I sincerely doubt you'll need a lot of effort to make Rachel help you with anything that could help you get Persephone back to the camp." The son of Hermes told her, whilst sporting a rather wry smile which made clear that he still remembered what must have been some sort of love-triangle between Persephone, Rachel and Annabeth at the end of the war.

"I'll be with you in half an hour or so," Chris told Clarisse whilst she walked towards the stables, "So save me a seat at the table in Camp Half-Blood."

Clarisse turned her head for a moment and smiled at her boyfriend.

"I will," she told him before taking another step.

Chris stared at her for another moment, then he stared into the direction of Camp Half-blood and the boy felt a chill crawl down his spine.

"Clarisse?" He asked.

"What is it?" Said teen asked in return.

A moment later she felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her.

"Be careful." Whispered Chris.

For a moment, Clarisse hesitated, feeling rather uncomfortable being hugged by anyone, even her own boyfriend with so many watching eyes around.

Then she brushed her own hand over Chris's. "I will," she whispered back, simultaneously nudging Chris with her head, "if you do the same."

Slowly the boy loosened his grip upon his girlfriend, allowing her to slide out of his arms.

Somehow he couldn't help but stare into the direction of Camp Half-Blood at the rapidly shrinking figure of his girlfriend.

* * *

"So what about the prophecy?" Chris asked the nearby daughter of Nike whilst dismounting from his Pegasus.

"It tells us a missing demigod will be somewhere at a certain date, they're trying to figure out what's the most likely place and time, and then the least likely since it is bound to be the last one." Replied the blond boy next to Pyrrha.

Chris sniggered for a moment, although the sound ended faster than usual. "Good, where is the meeting? In the Big House? Or at the Oracle's cave?" He asked them. "I got to join Clarisse rapidly, I am already a bit later then I intended to."

"Eerh, about that." Jaune asked him. "Where is Clarisse? Wasn't she supposed to be here before you?"

Chris stiffened instantly and the boy swallowed visibly.

"Please," whispered Chris with a soft, vulnerable sounding voice, "tell me you are joking."

Neither Jaune nor Pyrrha dared to match his gaze after those words.

"Nora." Jaune whispered towards the second closest demigoddess, the first of the three to regain some of his bearings. "Sound the alarm."

* * *

Several hours later and many miles away from Camp Jupiter and Camp Half- Blood.

The blond teen almost skipped down the stairs towards the roof.

He sighed and turned his head for a moment towards the door which gave access to roof, most of his higher brain functions still lost in the haze in his head.

For a moment he remembered the shooting stars and the girl with who he had been watching them and smiled again.

Then a loud yell pierced the golden haze which obstructed his brain.

"Stand still, Cupcake!" Yelled a loud voice. "And I'll only have you fly a homerun around the school!"

Somehow that voice stirred some instincts and the blue eyed boy instantly pushed himself against the wall and kept himself as silent as possible whilst eying the open door downstairs.

It took little more than second, but the blond boy caught a glimpse from a small, elfish looking Latino who raced past the entrance. In that single second, the teen stared upwards, straight at the athletic looking boy who had pressed himself against the wall.

"You owe me for this." Mouthed the elfish boy at him, before resuming his smile and disappearing.

"That's it, cupcake!" Continued the same loud voice. "You'll be scraping the bottom of the tables clean for the next ten weeks."

A moment later a massive looking baseball bat attached to a small, buff looking man with a red baseball cap charged past the door to the stairs.

"I really need to figure out what I did to end up here." Muttered the boy once he was certain the two were out of hearing distance.

* * *

 **Note Persephone simplifies the situation in camp Half-Blood in her conversations with Reyna (she still isn't allowed to tell her about the Greeks). For example you could argue that the Party Ponies and satyr's act like allies for the Greeks. That's not the point here, the point is that at no point in the war any of the monsters switched side to fight against the Titans (which is basically telling a lot about the behaviour of the Gods [and demigods], as well as the perceived chances of Camp Half-Blood for most of the war), whilst we might assume that this did happen with the Romans.**

 **(in the novels it is made obvious that the Giants send a massive force against Camp Jupiter, which was at least partly composed of centaurs and Cyclopes, Octavian's monsters later drew heavily of these two species [Yes, you can argue that they only pretended to serve Octavian, but the fact that Romans accepted them in large numbers without a massive amount of precautions implies it wasn't that unusual ])**

* * *

 _If you enjoyed this chapter, mind letting me know in a review?_


	9. Chapter 9

**I solemnly swear I am up to no...erh that I still am not the owner of Percy Jackson, RWBY or any other series.**

 **I do own my beta Lord Protector Corvo Attano another great deal of gratitude for checking this chapter though.**

 **Now I hope everyone enjoys this chapter**

* * *

Naomi cursed softly whilst planting the butt spike of her spear in the snow covered earth. Then she carefully rubbed her bare fingers against the palm of her hand, cursing the fingerless nature of her gloves again.

Distracted by the cold, the huntress failed to notice the swirling motion in the inky black darkness of the nearby cave's entrance when it happened.

Therefore, unknown to herself, a rather small, pale looking teen appeared from the shadows.

The boy looked around him for a few seconds, searching for a clue which betrayed a human presence. Most humans would have been unable to find anything at all in the forest, dark as it was in the late hour of the night. He on the other hand was far from most humans.

Fixing his gaze upon the fidgeting figure of the Huntress, a small and rather grim smile appeared upon his pale features and the boy moved one hand through his messy hair, before returning that to the hilt of the sword which hung from a black chain around his middle.

Naomi raised her head instantly when she heard the loud crack of a breaking branch and fixed her eyes upon the approaching boy.

For a single moment she hesitated, then her lips curled into a sadistic smile of her own and she reached for her bow and an arrow, remembering exactly why her gloves lacked fingers.

"A boy approaching the camp of The Hunt." She said. "How unlucky of you, or is it foolish?"

A hollow sounding chuckle escaped the boy's lips and he raised his hand in a nonchalant gesture which revealed a silver skull ring.

A second later Naomi felt the arrow getting plucked out of her hand.

The girl threw herself instantly forward, out of the reach from whatever assailant that might have stood there and tried to reach for the hunting knife which was strapped to her belt.

Another chuckle came from the boy's throat which drew her eyes instinctively to him. Another motion from the ringed hand followed after the sound and then what little visibility which had remained was hidden by darkness.

Panicking Naomi reached for her eyes and she felt a cold wetness, as if some kind of black mud covered her eyes. With every motion from her fingers she caught a glimpse of the world which disappeared again underneath the blackness with an equal speed.

A hand grabbed a hold of her shoulder and despite the silver parka Naomi felt a cold spread from her shoulder through her arm and chest.

"Where is Thalia?" The boy asked her with cold voice.

She hesitated for a moment and the darkness in front of her eyes disappeared for another moment, instead she stared directly in to a pair of cold black eyes which contained a hint of madness.

"In the camp, the silver tent which has a black skull and the name Green Day painted upon it." Naomi said, almost yelled rapidly.

For another moment, she felt the boys eyes bore into hers, then she heard another chuckle, however this time, it sounded not as cold or hollow.

"Why did I even bother to ask?" Muttered the boy.

Naomi almost screamed again when she felt something cold and slick grab her from behind and push her up again.

"Take me there and call her." He ordered her.

* * *

"What?" Muttered a drowsy sounding Thalia through the canvas.

Naomi threw a quick glance at the boy behind her, who seemed to make it a point to ignore the chaos that had erupted around them with the few huntresses who had remained awake either pointing their weapons at him or who were awaking the others.

"There is a boy..." Naomi started before he cut her off.

"Get your ass out of bed... Pinecone Face." Muttered the boy.

For another moment everything stayed silent, the next moment there was the rustle of cloth and the jangling of chains before the canvas maw of the tent was torn open.

"What the Hades are you doing here, Death Breath?" Asked a tired and exasperated looking Thalia.

She pointed her gaze upon Naomi. "And why have you taken one of our guards with you?"

"Well, Iris-messages seem unable to reach you, your dreams are guarded and of course you don't have an address to write to, who else could the camp send if they need you to be aware of something?" He asked her.

"About the second." He said to her with an exasperated expression. "Do you honestly believe that I would risk entering the tent of a Huntress without her permission if I failed to shout you awake?"

Thalia chuckled in return. "Point taken." She said. "Why are you here? Did they find a clue of Persephone?"

Nico blinked in return. "You got to be kidding me?" He asked her with a deadpan in his voice.

"No, I am not." Thalia replied pointedly with narrowed eyes.

Nico sighed deeply and turned around, pointing one finger at the blocks of wood which stood around their campfire and which served the Hunt as seats.

"And Thalia." Nico said almost as if it was an afterthought. "Tell your Huntresses to lower their weapons. I've heard that keeping your bow cord pulled back for a long time tends to weaken the limbs."

The lieutenant of the Hunt chuckled once more and made a soothing motion with her hand.

"But that boy intruded in our camp." Protested Naomi.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Then you better check the perimeter in case there are more." She told her with an obvious fake wariness.

"She's new." Thalia stage whispered to the boy.

An action which resulted in a thirty dirty looks directed at the boy who simply ignored them.

"You weapons." He repeated instead to the dozen of girls who had kept their weapons aimed at him. "Your lieutenant has made her decision."

For a moment said Huntresses stared at each other before they threw another look at Thalia.

Thalia however had narrowed her eyes due to their disobedience and gave Nico a nod.

The boy simply shrugged and raised his ringed hand again.

The next moment numerous formless limbs made from living shadows shot out of the darkness of the forest, capturing the arms and wrist of the Huntresses in their cold grip.

A single Huntress had escaped the snatching claws of the darkness by throwing herself forward. She heard a loud crack and then saw the pale, white phalanges which had wrapped themselves around her wrist. More bony limbs erupted from the ground, their pale hands mostly grasping in vain. However a few weren't and for a few frantic seconds it seemed to the girl as if they would drag her down into the earth with them.

The Huntresses who had simply lowered their weapons stared at Thalia for a moment, their eyes obvious requesting the order to attack and save their sister.

A few overeager girls raised their weapons already.

Nico reacted by turning his head towards them. There was no other motion of his hand which could have betrayed his actions, instead all there was a short glance of his eyes at a point behind them.

"Nico!" Thalia growled, deciding that the boy had gone far enough by now.

Behind the armed Huntresses, she noticed several armed undead which made her narrow her eyes.

The shambling undead were armed with a mixture of bows, spears, axes and rather small, crescent-shaped wicker shields. To her own surprise she noticed that most of the undead had a wool or soft leather cap upon their head. Even more curiously she recognised the long shafted axe with a relative small axe-head at the front and an ice-pick-like point at the backside of the weapon.

She wasn't surprised when she noticed the adjustments to the seemingly ill-fitting chest of the leather cuirasses of the warriors.

The lieutenant of the Hunt wondered for a moment whether she had to see Nico's recalling of the slain Amazons as another insult to Hunt or an attempt to some kind of courtesy, no matter how odd and clumsy it might be.

Nico took his eyes away from the Huntresses and pointed them at Thalia, both glared at each other for another second. Then a small tug at the corner of the mouth from each of the children from the Big Three appeared and both nodded.

Each of the Huntress felt or merely saw the formless limbs of shadow very slowly retreat, until they finally had slumped back into the shadows leaving their now freed sisters and weapons behind. Each of the girls quickly reached for her arms, fingers or wrists, wherever the shadows had caught them and began furiously rubbing them in an attempt to return some warmth to these parts of their body.

Their weapons remained where they had fallen after the shadows had plucked them from their hands and none of the Huntresses made an attempt to take them as if the touch of the shadows had somehow tainted them. Lastly neither Thalia nor Nico missed the way how the Huntress now were eying the shadows, seemingly expecting them to return to life in another moment.

Nico couldn't help it, the small tug at the corner of his lips became a little stronger, something which wasn't missed by Thalia.

"You overdid it, Nico." She told the younger boy disapproving, but still retaining a calmness in her voice which surprised the other Huntresses.

Nico narrowed his eyes at her reply despite her calm tone.

"Then maybe they should learn to keep their manners or find another Daughter of Hades to protect them!" He snarled at her making the daughter of Zeus take a step backwards whilst looking as if he had just smacked her.

Anyone else, whether man, woman, boy or girl, god, titan, monster, demigod or mortal, she would have struck them down after treating her like that. However whether knowingly or not, Nico had said what was probably the only sentence which could have withheld her.

Thalia sighed.

"You had some things to tell me?" Thalia asked him, whilst making a dismissive sign wave with her hand, implying that the Huntresses could remove themselves.

For another moment Nico stared at her again, then he sighed, a gesture which made look surprisingly frail compared to the angry avenger from a few moments ago.

"Yeah, I guess there are some things you should know." He muttered whilst dragging himself to the farther of the two blocks of wood.

Once again, Thalia wasn't exactly certain whether it was an attempt to politeness or simply his desire to remain closer to the shadows.

She did not miss the fact that fallen amazons were slowly shambling towards him. They were marching slowly, with shambling, rigid paces like the zombie mob from an old and especially cheap horror movie. Thalia remembered the way the undead armies of his father had moved during battle of Manhattan, they had been slow and stiff as well, but they hadn't been moving in the almost cartoonish way they did now. On the contrary, at the time they had acted with a meticulous and almost mechanical purpose which had made them a frightening if dispassionate foe, not unlike an automaton. The Lieutenant of the Hunt wondered if the way they were moving was an indication of Nico's own condition, the boy was looking paler and more tired than she had ever seen, or simply an attempt by him to appear less threatening. She sighed, Nico had always been difficult to understand and the time she spend away with the Hunt, Artemis and occasionally the Amazons had done nothing to better her understanding of him or most males for that measure.

After seating himself, Nico yawned and reached for the pot which had been left near the fire, half buried in the ashes.

Thalia hesitated for a moment then she began searching in the pouch which hung from her belt and against her hip.

She rumbled for a few seconds into the pouch before revealing a small, but clean cup and offered it to Nico.

The boy nodded gratefully.

"You looked like you'd keel over if I didn't find some way to fill you to the gills with coffee." Thalia muttered dismissively whilst the boy filled a first cup with the black brew.

"So," Thalia began, utilising a tone that made clear she believed she had done anything even an only slightly good host had done and no amount of sweet talking would keep her nerves from blowing if Nico wouldn't start talking.

"What are you aware of?" Nico asked her, before taking a first sip of the coffee.

"Nothing since Clarisse and the Children of War founded their own camp." Thalia spat.

Nico sighed again. "Then you better get comfortable." He said whilst stretching his legs and leaning a bit backwards. "because you've got a lot to learn."

Nico eyed the canister which he suspected to be her spear warily. "You also better get that spear out of your reach," he added hopefully. "before you do something you might regret during the story."

Thalia reached for said canister with her right hand with a deceptively kind smile, before turning the piece of mace into the weapon it actually was and channelled some lightning into the tip.

"I believe I heard some voice proclaiming idiocies." Thalia told him, still sporting the same smile. "I suggest you start talking before I decide to go ahead and take my frustrations out on him!"

Nico sighed.

"Fine, let's start with the reason I came here." Nico said.

"Shouldn't it be better if you started at the beginning?" Thalia interjected upon a harsh tone.

"Clarisse has disappeared from the camp." Nico replied coolly.

At another moment the shift in Thalia behaviour would have been funny, seeing her go from looking ready to stab someone in the guts to utterly baffled, blinking in disbelief.

Thalia sank back down upon the block of wood from which she had earlier risen.

"How?" She whispered softly. "What happened? What did they believe that happened? What..."

Nico took another sip of his coffee.

"Nobody knows so far." He said. "She was most likely riding a Pegasus, while on her way to the camp."

Nico hesitated. "Somewhere along the way," the boy raised his arms up as if to signify his lack of knowledge, "she simply disappeared, as did the animal."

"Why was she flying between the camps on her own?" Thalia asked him angrily.

Nico sighed. If Thalia was trying to make certain she riled herself up during listening, she did an excellent job.

"Pyrrha had send her an Iris-message which informed her of Rachel's latest prophecy." Nico told her. "It spoke about the date and place upon which a disappeared demigod could be found."

He sighed. "I don't have to add she hoped it was about Persephone."

"Are you kidding me?" Thalia asked him.

"If I was, I am certain there are better, less volatile and less armed victims to make fun of." Nico reminded her dryly.

"How long has it been? I'll be sending some huntresses in the morning!" She told Nico furiously.

"No more than two days." Nico replied. "And yes, your hunters' presence has been requested."

The boy shrugged. "Although I doubt they'll find anything." He continued, resulting into a cold glare of Thalia.

"Tyson and Mrs O'Leary had begun searching the entire area, the instant after Clarisse's disappearance was discovered." Nico explained. "They hadn't found anything when Chris asked me to warn you, nor has he send me a message since then."

"Just like Persephone." Thalia muttered angrily.

Nico decided to stand up a little, considering the next reveal he believed it would be better if he did not remain seated.

"Not like Persephone." Nico admitted to Thalia. "I found her a couple of months ago."

"Months?!" Thalia asked almost whispered, still Nico wasn't doubting that he would have heard every single letter even if he had been a mile away from her. Quite frankly, having a mile between him and her did not sound that bad at the moment.

The boy took another deep breath.

"Months." He repeated. "I expected you would have found out ages ago."

Nico had only a moment to realise that his words had sounded a lot more accusing than he intended them to be. Truth to be told, he had tried to reach Thalia quite a few times but the Hunt was an extraordinary elusive thing if you were male. Eventually, he had assumed that they would hear about it from the Campers at some point and he stopped bothering himself with thinking about it. The only reason he had been able to pinpoint them now was because the recent string of attacks upon monster camps in the north which had revealed their location to him.

For a moment Thalia seemed torn between her anger and her need to know more, then she decided both were not irreconcilable.

Swinging her lightening-coated hand to the boy's head she blurted out another question.

Nico stepped back, outside of her reach and made a quick motion with his left hand which called one of his Amazons forward.

The undead warrior raised her axe with both hands leaving Thalia an opening which allowed her to stab her spear deep into the Amazon's stomach.

"How was she?" Thalia yelled at him whilst Nico called another Amazon forward. This one was armed with a spear and a wicker shield which she held defensively in front of her. Thalia slapped the rusty tip of the spear away with her own weapon. "Is she safe?"

"Last time I saw her she was alive and well." Nico told her whilst the furious, eternally fifteen years old wrapped her fingers around the edge of the shield.

A moment later the stench of burned flesh and wood filled his nostrils.

Breathing angrily, her left hand still crackling with electricity, Thalia aimed her eyes again in Nico's direction who wisely decided to send another undead warrior at her.

Nico chuckled softly, as if Thalia wasn't destroying his bodyguards at few feet distance from him, and continued.

"Somewhat tired perhaps." Nico shook his head for a moment. "She keeps trying to carry the weight of the world upon her shoulders."

Behind him a fourth Amazon charged forward with a long hafted axe in her hands and a shield strapped to her left shoulder. Thalia growled and reached for the face of her previous victim and placed her hand upon the fallen Amazon's forehead. The scent of burning flesh grew more intense as the last remains of flesh upon the skeleton were blackened.

She dove underneath the swipe of the axe and slammed her shoulder into the leather which once had protected the Amazon's stomach. Stabbing her spear between the legs of another Amazon, she made the undead woman stumble against one of the other members of Nico's guard.

Before the Amazon could push herself up, Thalia reached for the heavy hunting knife which hung from her belt. A moment later the almost decapitated body of the Amazon fell back down again.

In the back of her mind, some part of Thalia had already registered the marked difference with which the undead Amazons now moved in comparison to their earlier shambling pace.

Behind her, calmly observing the battle Nico sighed and sat himself down again before reaching for the cup which he slowly refilled with coffee.

He removed his head from the fight for a moment and pointed it in the direction of where his Amazons had come from. Then a slow, commanding motion of his hand and another, more numerous group of Amazons started walking out of the forest or seemed to crawl out of the earth in front of it.

Three of the Amazons headed straight for the fight, the others simply remained there, waiting until the moment when Nico would call them forth.

"Where is she?" Yelled Thalia before stabbing her blade through the palate of another Amazon.

Nico hesitated for a moment. He doubted Thalia would be pleased by his answer.

"She's with the Romans, Thalia." He told her with a tired voice. "At the-camp-which-is-named-after-your-father's-latin-identity-when-he's-picking-up-women."

Hearing that, Thalia stiffened for a moment, seemingly too baffled to act. Then her instincts kicked in and she stepped back to evade another swing from the bronze blade of a battle-axe.

"How the Hades is that possible?" Yelled Thalia before blocking the axe with the shaft of her weapon and attempted to push the battle-axe down. After another moment she grunted and head-butted the now stooping Amazon.

"Please don't use my father's name as an expletive." Nico remarked calmly whilst ordering another four Amazons forward.

"She's a centurion, by the way." Nico continued, before pausing to take another sip of his coffee.

"She's what?!" Thalia screamed before stabbing her knife into the throat of the Amazon.

A wide and rapid swing from her spear made the first two Amazons stumble.

"She's a centurion." Nico repeated. "I take it you haven't visited the Romans a lot before."

"I haven't!" Thalia growled back, before throwing her knife at the furthest of the Amazons. "We rarely visit them, the only time I've so much as seen a Roman, was when we met up with one of their patrols over two years ago."

The knife struck the Amazon's skull with a dry sound that seemed to resemble the splitting of wood, which seemed to instantly remove what little of life that had remained in the undead warrior.

Coating the tip of her spear in another layer of crackling electricity Thalia fixed the Amazons with a cruel grin, then she mouthed a single word. "Aegis."

The Amazons stopped as if struck by lightning and seemed to hesitate, somehow affected by dread which was radiated by the mad grinning gorgon which was emblazoned upon the shield.

Nico gave the Amazons behind him a nod and another five undead warriors marched forward.

What else is Persephone doing there?" Thalia yelled at him, whilst launching herself upon the small mob in front of her.

Nico sighed when he saw the way Thalia was demolishing the undead Amazons, wondering if he would have to call even more undead forth if he wanted to keep the lightning from striking him...repeatedly.

Nico paused for a moment. The boy knew he was about to go treading even deeper and more dangerous waters then before.

"After she left the camp, she was found by one of the Goddesses who kept her somewhere away to train her for this mission." Nico told her.

"That Goddess adopted her before sending her off, making Persephone her daughter." Nico continued. "I spoke with Persephone about her new mother, I had more than my share of doubts at first but if nothing else, Persephone honestly loves her mother and I'd say that after what happened with Poseidon she might be the best thing that could have happened to her."

Throughout the conversation, Nico had kept his eyes upon the Lieutenant of the Hunt and he noticed the way Thalia's motions slowed down and her attention to her opponents wavered.

For a moment Thalia stood there, alone in a circle of undead who all kept their weapons pointed at her, then Nico made another motion with his hand and most of them stepped back again.

Nico wondered how long Thalia's regained composure would continue once he broke the news of Persephone's adopted mother's identity. He sighed, Thalia did so too, almost simultaneously.

The Lieutenant of the Hunt slowly lowered her spear.

"What happened Nico?" Thalia asked him, before shaking her head. "Gods, it feels as if I've just been turned from a pine tree into a human again."

"Well, this time nobody ended up betraying the Camp and most of his siblings and pseudo-family to an ancient enemy." Nico replied, drawing a small, but obviously bitter smile from Thalia.

"Persephone is at Camp Jupiter." Thalia repeated after him. "She's some kind of officer and she's working too hard, which is a severe case of the pot calling the kettle black."

Nico rolled his eyes at the last remark. "Why does everyone keep telling me that?" The boy muttered.

"What else is new about her?"

"As it is, she is safer than she ever was." Nico told her, prompting a small, but scathing smile from Thalia. "She's busy training her legionaries and making reforms." Nico hesitated for a short moment. "She's worried though, suspects something has been set in motion that promises little good to anyone."

At that point Nico sighed. "Sadly though, I am afraid she's right. I've got a bad feeling and some actual suspicions which I hope are very wrong."

"And if they're right?" Thalia asked him.

The grim smile Nico sported, explained enough.

"The joy of being wrong when you're a pessimist," Thalia remarked wryly.

"You think I am right though." Nico noted with a resigned tone.

"It is something in the air, the way the monsters are acting and their reactions when we ambush them." Thalia said. "They're aware of something, expecting something and I still have no idea what it is."

"So suspect quite a few of the veterans in the camp." Nico told her.

"I know, Clarisse did too." Thalia remarked sounding angrily.

She shook her head. "Is there any chance that the same happened to her?" Thalia asked him. "That she was picked up by that Goddess and you'll find her again in the Roman camp?"

Nico hesitated for a moment. "I don't know." He admitted. "Persephone wasn't kidnapped, she left of her own free will and was taken in by her new mother, who prepared her for her role in the Roman camp."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, obviously aware of his attempts to veil Persephone's adopted mother's name.

"However, one of the Roman praetors was kidnapped as well, disappeared without so much as a trace whilst he should have been safe." Nico told her, and truthfully this was as much an attempt to hide Juno's name as it was to share his troubles with someone who was at least somewhat aware of the entire situation.

"Damn." Thalia muttered, for a moment distracted by the news.

"Yeah," Nico agreed. "Damn."

Thalia shook her head as if that would somehow remove some of the thoughts that began to settle in her head.

"I'll send some of my Huntresses to Camp Half-Blood." Thalia told him. "See if they find something the others failed to do." The girl hesitated for a moment.

"Do you think I should head to camp Jupiter myself or send some patrol with a message for Persephone?" Thalia asked Nico.

"I know she would appreciate your presence." Nico told her. "Truth to be told she expected you to be the first one of her friends to find her and I can tell she is looking forward to seeing you again."

"Something you beat me too, hm?" Thalia added with a small smile.

"I can't say I am in favour of you moving to there or even sending some Huntresses to them, though." Nico added, whilst sounding not very happy with his own remark.

Thalia raised a single eyebrow in return. "Why?" She asked him, sounding far from pleased but not overtly aggressive.

"First of all, the monster threat at the northern border." Nico told her. "You've seen how bad it became in the last months and how much worse it might have become if you and the Hunt weren't out here." Nico reminded her, before hesitating for a second.

"Furthermore, I have a ... suspicion about a threat just outside the border." He admitted. "A necromancer."

"One of your siblings?" Thalia asked him curiously, but obviously doubting her own suggestion.

Nico sighed, more than a bit tired of the lie he had so far been forced to uphold. "I doubt it, but all I know is that this threat, whether male or female, seems a powerful necromancer."

"This is the main reason," Nico continued. "Although I must remind you to be careful about your dealings with Persephone. She is safe with the Roman as it is, but her position is far from secure and with one praetor missing...

Nico sighed. "Well, let's just say that the disturbance your visit would cause will most likely not be for the better of her or the remaining praetor."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Thalia asked him upon a dangerous tone.

"Remember…well every visit the Hunt made to Camp Half-Blood?" Nico asked her. "The Romans are a lot harsher and stricter than the Greeks. With them you don't have to worry about a prank in retaliation but about a declaration of open war if you cause even half the amount of resentment as you do in the Camp."

"Surely you're joking?" Thalia asked him. "You don't think they would actually declare war upon the Huntresses of one of their own Goddess?

Nico chuckled dryly. "Why not? It has happened before." The boy told her.

Nico chuckled again. "Why do you think the Hunt visits the Roman Camp so rarely? Your lady knows the Romans will strike back when pushed."

Thalia stared at him for another moment. "I see your point." She admitted to Nico. "Still I won't be waiting for another year to see her!"

"I am not telling you to." Nico told her whilst raising one hand in a soothing motion. "I just ask you to wait a bit longer. If we're lucky this entire situation blows over without causing a major fuss and you can visit her without risking a war between you and her because one of your girls made the mistake of thinking Romans would be just as tolerant of their behaviour as the Greeks."

Thalia glared at him for a second, but she was well aware of the behaviour from some of her girls. Agreed, quite a few had a reason for disliking males but she knew very well that if any of them had behaved like that against her, she would have made them regret it in return. Of course you had those with a good reason, and those who simply joined in with the crowd as if they had no opinion of their own.

"I'll take care of my girl's behaviour, Nico." She told the boy with a hint of coldness in her voice.

Nico couldn't help but throw a quick glance in the direction where Naomi had disappeared at that but kept his mouth shut about the subject.

Instead he simply shrugged. "I'd be willing to help you arrange a meeting with her when this is over."

Thalia nodded. "That would be helpful." she admitted.

Thalia shrugged after those words. "Guess I'll have to talk with my lady though, the situation is rapidly growing worse. I doubt we will be able to contain it quickly without her help."

"I noticed she wasn't present, I assume this isn't a regular thing?"

"It isn't." Thalia told him. "Usually, she is rarely off to the Olympus for more than a couple of hours a week, now though..."

Thalia took a deep breath, "now she's rarely with us for more than a couple of hours a week."

"Guess your dad needs her for something or so." Nico muttered. "Perhaps that's over soon, what is she doing?"

Thalia chuckled dryly. "I can't tell you..." She started with a wry amusement before growing angrier, "because I don't know it myself and Artemis doesn't seem to like it either."

For a moment Nico looked as if he was about to say something, then he decided that speaking his mind, about the convenience of the Olympus deciding to start shutting themselves off from the rest of the world, wouldn't help anyone.

"I see," Nico told her instead. "Anything else?"

"One more thing." Thalia told her whilst laying her hand upon his shoulder. "Who adopted Persephone?"

Mentally, Nico utilised the few seconds he had to curse the Fates in every way he could up with in that short amount of time.

The boy subtly motioned his Amazons closer and prepared to dive for safety.

"I already wondered when you would ask this." Nico said upon a conversationally tone whilst trying to make his undead guards move faster.

"I swear upon the Styx I am not yanking your chain but it is ...Juno."

It took Thalia exactly two seconds to comprehend the meaning of that name and another third to call the first lightning bolt down from the heavens.

"Whaaaaaattttt?!"

At least the remaining Huntresses found it an entertaining ending to Nico's conversation.

* * *

"Are you out of your mind?!" Exclaimed a furious Sherman whilst slamming his fist upon the table. "We did not escape this Camp to return now with our tail between our legs!"

"Escape." Thought Annabeth bitter whilst supporting her chin with her fist. The girl ignored the discomfort which was caused by the impact upon the table from Sherman's fist. At least she hadn't lost her bearing and almost knocked herself a black eye lack Travis had done last time.

"That's how far things have come." She thought whilst resisting the urge to slam her own head against the wooden desk. "They wanted to _escape_ this camp."

She sighed. "How had it come to this?" She wondered in herself.

"Come on!" Yelled Michael Yew back. "It is obvious your position isn't safe there. If even Clarisse disappeared from there."

"What is telling that about the camp then?" Asked Sherman sarcastically. "I am certain we can ask Persephone whether someone could disappear from here without anyone finding out."

"Hey Perce," He asked with sarcasm simply dripping from every word. "Do you think somebody could disappear from this camp?"

He placed one hand next to his ear as if trying to listen to someone's whispering.

"Oh, wait." He said as if he only now remembered. "She can't tell us, **because she disappeared out of the Main-Camp ages ago and it took you days to discover this!** "

Behind Annabeth, Chiron was trying to wave both parties down without much effect.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed how Luke was about to attempt to speak up himself. Annabeth's hand shot out instantly and grasped his wrist.

She knew better than allow Luke to speak up, just his presence was bound to incite at least some of the others.

Her reaction was too late though.

"What? You wanna say something, pretty boy?" Sherman asked whilst sending a harsh glare at the son of Hermes. And indeed like Annabeth had already suspected, most so-called Children of War as well a number of the other, mostly older campers' expression seemed to darken.

Luke sighed, obviously having reached the same conclusion as Annabeth earlier had.

"Can we keep this meeting civil?" He requested, no doubt toning his initial answer down. "We're here to meet about the gathering number of monsters around the Camp."

He hesitated for a moment. "The Camp you're still a member of." He reminded them.

"Luke's right." Said Chiron, sounding tired and Annabeth could tell that he tried to keep the most obvious signs of disappointment out of his voice. The immortal centaur had without a doubt realised that the rebellious mood which marked a growing group of campers was more likely to lash out when feeling the shame of disappointing their old teacher than make them contemplate their actions.

"We should stand together, like we did before." Chiron continued. "Now, no less than during the Titan War."

Sherman scoffed loudly whilst keeping his gaze fixed upon Luke.

"Stand together." He muttered disdainfully. "Under whose leadership? Luke's? Annabeth's?"

For a moment, his expression softened. "We fought under Persephone, Beckendorf, Thalia, Clarisse and yes, even Annabeth, before!" He said, almost whispered with an obvious pride in his voice. He sighed, for a moment obviously lost to the memories of those days. "I'd be the first to stand by their side if they asked me again."

"Such a coincidence, is it not?" He muttered furiously. "That all but one of them are either dead,..." at this point he looked as if he was about to claw his way over the table to attack Luke, "or have disappeared!"

"I have nothing to do with their disappearance." Luke replied almost instantly with a defensive tone. Nobody failed to notice that he couldn't deny the dead of Beckendorf or all the other victims for that matter."

"Nico told us Persephone left of her own volition and that she was safe when they met, performing a task for some Goddess." Muttered Chris upon a, to him, unusually dark tone.

Annabeth smiled at him in gratitude, the boy ignored her.

Sherman raised his hands in surrender. "I am not saying Nico was lying or merely wrong." He said. "I am just saying it seems rather strange, is it not? That most the leaders from during the War are gone from the Camp and that **he** 's the one most intend to see in charge."

"I don't need to be charge." Luke told them whilst raising his hands in a similar gesture of surrender.

"That's what he's saying now." Muttered a voice mockingly from the rear ranks from the Children of War.

Annabeth failed to recognise the voice, but the snigger which went through group following the words was saying a lot about their belief in that.

"We can put it to vote." Suggested one of the Stolls with a slight smile.

One half of the twin chuckled. "No pranks upon everyone who votes for Luke." He added.

Annabeth groaned instantly.

"And who's voting?" Sherman asked sarcastically. "The children who've never even seen a sword from up close? The ones who never risked their life against monsters? The ones who..." he paused for a moment and obviously swallowed what he had intended to say. "Or will it be the ones who will actually be doing the fighting?" He continued before snarling "And the dying as well the suffering in the mud and dirt?"

Annabeth carried little doubt whether Sherman had intended to say something about the campers who fought for the Titans and possibly even the ones that had tried to maintain some kind of neutrality.

"If there is to be a leader, that warrior will be selected by the others and not by a vote!" Muttered Chris upon a tone which it clear that there would be no objection by anyone allowed to this order. "This was just a poor joke by Travis."

To Annabeth's own surprise, Sherman simply nodded at Chris's order. It was a rather obvious reminder to her that Clarisse had fallen for the boy due to lot more than just his good looks. Still, seeing him behave not to dissimilar to his girlfriend was rather unsettling.

A few feet away from her, Annabeth recognised Travis nervous shuffling. So did Chris.

"Stop it, Travis!" He told the boy. "I am not going to bite."

He snorted. "Hades, I am not even going back to the Hermes Cabin, so calm your shit!"

"Yes," Annabeth thought. "Chris was behaving way too much like a son of Ares."

The boy sighed. "This is leading nowhere." He reminded them. "What are we going to do about the problem and the prophecy?"

Annabeth hesitated for a moment. "I take it you and the others are not returning to the camp?" She asked, already aware of the answer before it left his lips.

"Not a chance." He replied. "We prefer to be amongst our own, we won't abandon you, but this isn't our camp anymore."

"Yeah, I guess." Annabeth whispered with her head held down.

She sighed and knew that this wasn't the time to mourn the chasm which had grown between her and them.

To Annabeth the rest of the meeting passed in the same detached way with which most people would watch a movie. The worst of the heat between the parties had died down after the outburst of Sherman and with the occasional intervention of Chris the meeting continued smoothly.

Still there was no great decision taken, no brilliant strategy proposed to beat the continuing rising numbers of the monsters. All they would do was simply soldiering on whilst a few measures were taken which would allow them to call upon each other with a greater ease.

Annabeth sighed and brushed her hand over Luke's fingers.

"I'll be a bit later." She whispered when she saw Luke looking up, his lips curling into a small smile. "There is someone I need to talk too."

Luke nodded curiously, before turning his hand around and playing a bit with Annabeth's fingers, making his girlfriend smile.

* * *

"Chris, can I talk to you for a moment?" Annabeth asked the teenager whilst the hall started to run empty. The boy raised his head for a moment and sighed, although considering how often he had begun to do that since his girlfriend's disappearance, a sigh was hardly out of the ordinary.

He exchanged a glance with the two Children of War who had been talking with him and nodded to Annabeth.

Another sigh. "What do you wanna talk about?" He asked whilst leaning against the table.

"There are not many old friends who wanna talk to me these days." Annabeth told him with a poor attempt to smile.

"You're hardly acting like the friend most of them remember." Chris replied, sounding more tired than actually angry.

This time it was Annabeth who sighed. "I am sorry about that." The girl paused to bite her lip. "I am just trying to protect Luke."

"I know. I'd do the same for Clarisse." He admitted but without looking at her. "I won't hold your defence of Luke against you."

Annabeth smiled again in gratitude.

"It is the rest I hold against you."

A short while ago, Annabeth would most likely have lashed out in reply and the conversation would have ended then and there. But that was a short while ago and as she had admitted to herself whilst pawning the silver drachma which she had hidden in her pocket, she had been acting like a fool for way to long.

It had been as if she had rediscovered her fatal flaw after such a long time. It was almost ironic, even during the Second Titan War when a bloody death had rarely been more than few miles off she had been intelligent, calm and reliable. Yet the moment that the danger fell away, she had thrown all of that away.

She had been so happy at the time, she had her innermost desires: she was the architect of the Olympus and she had Luke. Everyone would have lost their mind for a while, or at least they should have. Persephone hadn't, nor had some of the Children of War. At the time, she and so many others had simply believed that they had become too accustomed to war, something which she still believed to actually contain at least a bit of truth.

In hindsight, the night of their victory might have been the first time she had lost her common sense. She had gotten together with Luke that night and now she could hardly remember Persephone's face without the pain hidden behind that horrible, small smile. She had loved Persephone at the time, that hadn't been the problem, but Luke had been the one for which she had fallen so long ago and that hadn't stopped. That love hadn't disappeared when he abandoned the Camp, nor had it when he led the monsters against them and if it couldn't fade away by their supposed enmity how could it have disappeared after he saved them?

After that night, she couldn't have been in love with Persephone anymore so she had banished that to deepest darkest confines of her heart where it could wither away and die, leaving only her friendship out and therefore she behaved as such.

She shouldn't have been surprised that Persephone threw herself in her remaining duties, which happened to be hunting the remaining monsters across the entire state and training. Nor should she have been surprised when Persephone had begun to act curt and angry, obviously hurt by the sudden rejection.

With Persephone and so many others including the Children of War gone, it had been mostly her and Luke who had been capable of leading the campers and why not? Both of them were amongst the older campers, attractive, intelligent, friendly and obviously happy. The perfect candidates to welcome any new demigod into the camp. And yes, they had just been through a war against monsters, but all was well now, or at least that was the picture they wanted to show them. After all, why torture the kids with stories of monster assaults or even worse, the battles between demigods from both sides?

Of course, the war could not remain a mere memory with so many veterans of the battle turning up at the camp. Eventually Persephone had turned up as well, still hurting and nursing this pain behind a sad smile which was accompanied by a hair-trigger temper.

Persephone had almost instantly resumed her own duties in the Camp and although her distaste of Luke was apparent she went out of her way to evade him. Still their first clash had come swiftly, a first dispute about the lessons in swordsmanship, just one of the many which would come.

Persephone had insisted on retaining the standards they had adopted during the war, whilst Luke fought just as hard to see them lowered to a much more reasonable level.

It was a fight Persephone was doomed to lose. With almost everyone mistakenly believing that the monster-threat had been diminished, she had stood little chance against the now much more relaxed campers. It wasn't as if anyone had thought that the monsters would stay gone, but few of them had believed that they would become an actual threat before several years would have passed. There was no reason for them to believe that the Camp might need to churn out another group of warriors in a matter of months.

The atmosphere had quickly worsened towards Persephone, and it didn't took long before she had been transformed from a war hero into a warmonger in the eyes of the new campers, whilst Luke's former rebels had never liked her since Persephone had been the fiercest and most dangerous of their enemies during the War.

Bit by bit the situation had kept worsening for Persephone and with Nico, Tyson, Clarrise and the others frequently gone, she had few friends remaining. Annabeth had been one of the few remaining friends, so the girl had grasped whatever strand of their friendship they had retained.

And once again, Annabeth completely disregarded her former best friend's feelings. Instead of trying to be there for her, or at least acting like a proper bridge between Persephone and Luke, Annabeth had tried to bring her over to Luke's side. Make her friend see the shiny new picture of the new era they had entered, rather than the tattered remains of the old which Persephone's eyes only seemed to notice.

Bit by bit the greatest warmth between them had faded away, which even at the time had been a continuous regret of Annabeth's.

Eventually, in an act of frustration she threw the knowledge of Persephone's crush upon her in the open. It had not been the first time she went to bed feeling bad about Persephone, but it certainly had been the worst case in a long time.

The next night she went without sleep, for the first time she had understood why her mother hated Poseidon with the passion she did.

After that day Persephone had become more subdued in the Camp. It wasn't as if she wasn't still fighting Luke, but it was clear that most of the fight in her had been gone.

In some kind of sick and twisted way, Annabeth had won, but deep down, she realised that she would have preferred to lose this fight.

Whatever feeling of triumph there might have been disappeared after a couple weeks, Persephone was gone and she hadn't come back.

At first she hadn't realised this and she preferred to believe the rumours about her simply being upon a quest or even having joined the Hunt.

After that crack after crack began to appear in the walls of the monument she had constructed in her imagination.

Day after day more Children of War returned after scouring the environment, most of them rapidly disappeared again, seeking the company of their old friends and family rather than the new campers.

But others didn't and it slowly became clear that they became less and less comfortable in her company and so did she in theirs.

At first she suspected it was their own uncouth nature, but in hindsight they had simply grown apart. As long as Persephone had been there, these impression had been lessened but without her their differences grew more obvious.

Eventually Clarisse and the remaining Children of War had returned as well and this time there was no need for them to leave shortly. But it was too late and Persephone was already gone.

The resulting meeting between Clarisse and the representatives of some of the cabins had ended with punches being thrown and a series of insults. She hadn't spoken a word against Luke or her that didn't somehow seemed to be coated in frost afterwards.

Once again Annabeth had tried to play peace maker between Clarisse and Luke, but the daughter of Ares had lacked the patience and affection for her which Persephone had and as such Annabeth stopped her attempts rapidly.

Unfortunately, the Children of War had returned from the "mopping up of the monsters" without a serious defeat but not as true victors. They had noticed the first signs of groups of monsters preparing to strike back against them and hurried back to defend the camp.

It was another assault upon the imaginary monument in Annabeth's mind and they kept coming.

Bit by bit the imaginary tribute to the new age in Annabeth's mind fell under the assault of the past catching up with them.

At first Clarisse tried what Persephone had attempted to do before, but she lacked the patience of the former daughter of Poseidon. And a wedge began to grow between them and the rest of the Camp.

It was only a matter of time before there was an almost literal separation between the Children of War and the others. One side was called bloodthirsty, pigheaded, uncivilised tyrants and warmongers, whilst the others were called lazy, ungrateful and ill disciplined cowards.

Still, even with all of this Annabeth still couldn't believe the Children of War had actually decided to leave the camp. Most of the newer campers tried to laugh it away at first, compared it to children throwing a tantrum or said they would be back for dinner. They weren't.

And now Clarisse, a girl who despite everything had been her friend, was gone too.

And all Annabeth could do was wonder why she had done what she did.

It was a cruel irony, once she had been one of the foremost leaders of a united camp of Demigods, with friends who loved her and would have fought their way through the armies of the underworld for her and her most important dream was Luke and being an architect. Now she had both but she paid for them with her friendship or even her friends and the Camp she had grown up in looked as if it was only a few moments away from being spliced. Closing her fingers around the silver drachma, she wondered how long she would remain having any of these.

* * *

Annabeth sighed whilst pointing her gaze upon Chris.

"You are right." She admitted and somehow she wasn't that surprised that Chris actually seemed surprised at her admittance.

"How are you holding up?" Annabeth asked him.

Chris sighed again. "Poorly." He admitted.

"I'd like to thank you for keeping Sherman in check." Annabeth told him before shaking her head. "I don't think the Camp can afford this kind of division for the moment."

"Also thank you for making him ease up on Luke. Sometimes I wonder whether you guys remember he's human and not a monster." She continued.

Chris shrugged. "My half-brother is very much human, that's his problem I am afraid."

He sighed. "That's why I doubt it will ever come good between us and him."

"What do you mean with that?" Annabeth asked him curiously.

"Do you remember the war?" Chris asked her in return. "The Campers and Luke's Rebels fought the same war but their struggle was different."

"I know because I went through them both at times." Chris admitted. "The Rebels chose to command the monsters, fight with them against other demigods, Annabeth. No matter how much good we wanted to do, we still were surrounded by more inhumanity than we ever were or should have been. So we fought against the monsters in our own way, we held on to our humanity and kindness, adopted a moral code more stringent than we ever did before or afterwards. Because if we didn't, than it would be so easy to turn into the very monsters we would command."

Chris sighed. "For the Campers the battle was different, it wasn't a personal fight to retain your humanity, it was a desperate struggle to survive and to allow others to survive. It wasn't about civilization or elegance, it was a slow crawl through mud and gore. You fell, crawled and tried to scramble up again, only to fall again. The only way to remain without a taint was to let others fight your battles for you."

Chris sighed. "Luke is a great human being, but he can't understand the Campers, just like they can't understand him. What he sees when looking at the Children of War is those who lost themselves, what they see is those who weren't strong enough or worse those who make others fight their war for them."

Annabeth stared at him for a few seconds. "You spend a lot time thinking about that?" She asked him, not certain whether she was merely curious or actually wondering whether he was right."

"Way too long." Chris admitted. "I doubt I'll ever find all the intrinsic differences between both groups out though."

Chris sighed again before looking up to sky.

"You noticed the same years ago, didn't you?" Chris asked her. "That's why you kept loving him?"

Annabeth blushed at the remark. "That," she admitted, "might contain some truth."

"Why are you here, Annabeth?" Chris asked her, deciding that the conversation had digressed too much."

Annabeth shook her head for a moment. "Like I said earlier," She said, "to thank you and to ask for your help."

"Sherman won't abandon you, neither will Mark or any of the others." Chris told her whilst sounding tired. "Or at least they won't unless you force them."

Chris gave her a small smile. "I imagine that's a relief for you, isn't it?"

Annabeth gave an equally small smile. "I had no idea that I'd ever think of Clarisse as a source of stability."

"Most don't." Chris whispered sadly.

"Sorry." Replied Annabeth, realising that reminding Chris of Clarisse wasn't perhaps the best way to make him cope with her disappearance.

"The first date of the prophecy is only three days away." Annabeth brought up. "Will you be joining the expedition with me?"

Chris snorted. "The Camp lacks the necessary warriors to keep me from joining them." He told her before sighing.

"You're aware that this prophecy can turn out unrelated to this mess, don't you?" Chris asked her after a moment.

Annabeth nodded sadly. "Rachel reminded me of that as well."

Both sighed.

"Well at least that's someone who's bound to beat herself up over Persephone's disappearance as well." Chris told her.

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed. "I wonder what will happen between those two when Persephone gets back."

"Very little I imagine." Chris told her.

"I am not so certain of that." Annabeth replied upon a rather wry tone.

"I aware that they used to feel some attraction." Chris told her.

Annabeth turned her head in surprise towards the boy.

"Silena." Chris reminded her. "She made a few remarks which in hindsight might have been her own way to prepare us for Persephone's big reveal."

Annabeth didn't bother to hide her own regret about her own role in "Persphone's big reveal."

"And you think their feelings have changed?" She asked him curiously.

"You think that after what happened, Persephone will ever be capable of fully trusting anyone who was even remotely involved or in Rachel's case failed to speak out for her?" Chris asked her, before shaking his head. "I doubt it."

Annabeth sighed again, but after that neither of the leaders spoke up again and eventually went their own way.

Chris took a Pegasus from the stables and joined with several other Children of War for his ride back to their own camp. None of the teens spoke up during the ride, but it was a comfortable silence.

Annabeth went back to her own cabin. A tall, handsome looking teen was waiting there for her.

"You and Chris weren't talking about anything too complicated for me to understand, I hope." Luke told playfully whilst wrapping one arm around his girlfriend.

In reply Annabeth wrapped both her own arms around the son of Hermes and pulled herself tighter to him, momentarily surprising him. It didn't took him more than a moment to recover though and return her hug.

"Feeling a bit better?" He asked her after a few moment.

In reply she only wrapped her arms tighter around him.

* * *

Persephone blinked for a moment after she saw the roll of parchment crash against the wall of the room, before she sighed and walked towards the scroll.

Still in midstride, a thought crept in and she paused instantly, waiting for another two seconds. Another roll flew past her in front of her face and slapped against the wall as well.

Persephone chuckled for a moment whilst shaking her head and then walked towards the wall with loud steps before bending down and picking both scrolls up.

"What did these poor things ever do to you, Reyna?" Persephone asked her, well aware that Reyna's little tantrum amused her a bit more than should have been the case.

As in reply, another scroll was launched and this time, it had actually been aimed at her face. The centurion simply grasped the parchment in midflight though.

"They're useless," came the agitated voice of Reyna in return from behind her desk, "and bring me the last scroll back, that one might actually contain something useful."

Persephone sniggered in reply, making certain the sound reached Reyna's ears.

The teen dropped the first two scrolls in the box which she had reserved for all these "useless" scrolls before returning to Reyna and seated herself in front of her.

"Here you go." She told the praetor whilst placing the scroll in front of her.

"Do you want me to look for another set of notes about that meeting in the 1960's?" Persephone asked her.

Reyna glared at her for a second and well aware that the glare was not truly meant for her Persephone did not even blink in return, but instead supported her chin with one fist whilst waiting for Reyna's answer.

That second passed and Reyna sighed. "There is no need." She whispered obviously disappointed. "I found the minutes whilst you were gone."

"They mentioned several situations which would allow me to appoint my own quartermaster but for these I would either have to appoint a Primus Pilus or return some more powers to the tribunate." Reyna muttered.

Persephone flinched in return. The Primus Pilus was the most powerful centurion of all. Apart from the praetors there was not a single soul in the entire legion who was capable of matching him or her in official influence. It was a rank which was bestowed only upon a temporary basis in the Tenth as it was now, and if it was, it was only bestowed in wartime among the highest ranking centurions. Worse for her and Reyna was the fact that highest ranking centurions were traditionally described as the centurions of the First cohort.

"Has Octavian already tried to have you bestow that rank upon someone?" She asked Reyna curiously and with a hint of worry.

Reyna nodded for a moment.

"Me and Jason refused to appoint a new Primus after the last one died during the assault upon the citadel of Orthrys." Reyna told her. "At the time we believed the war was over or least sizzled down to the point that we wouldn't need one."

Persephone reached for her drink and took a sip. "And now." The centurion of the Fifth continued. "The Camp most likely can't afford one."

"True enough." Reyna muttered.

"Is there anything he can do to force the issue?" Persephone asked her.

"At least not for another three months unless an enemy army arrives." Reyna told her.

"I could at least do that much." She whispered.

"You did a great job." Replied Persephone, adding a small smile to show the sincerity of those words.

Reyna gave her a small, rather weary smile in return that made clear she herself was far from pleased with that result.

"You're not asking about the tribunes?" She asked Persephone.

"They were a good idea which was utterly ruined." Persephone told her in return

Persephone chuckled for a moment when Reyna looked at her with an asking expression. "Lupa spoke about them during my training." She added as an explanation.

"Jason used to joke that they would be the first thing that Octavian would reinstate when he gained the necessary power." Reyna whispered whilst removing her gaze from the other teen and throwing a pensive look through the window.

"That sounds quite like Octavian." Persephone agreed before placing her hand momentarily upon Reyna's, returning the girl's eyes to her own face.

"We'll find Jason." Persephone reminded Reyna, "It might take a while but we'll find him. He is not the type of man to die easily."

Reyna chuckled for a moment. "You don't have to tell me. I've known him for years, Pluto himself couldn't hold him in the underworld if Jason had his mind set upon returning."

"And you would lead the charge upon the gates of Pluto's realm yourself if it got him a better shot." Persephone added with a teasing expression.

For a moment averted her eyes from Persephone's. "Shut up." She muttered whilst Persephone chuckled in return.

The teen leaned a bit backwards, obviously enjoying Reyna's little embarrassment.

"I'll have you joining with the first line when that happened." Muttered Reyna which prompted an even louder chuckle from Persephone in return.

"Me thinks that's some kind of power abuse." She added whilst wagging her finger in mock indignation.

"You're enjoying this way too much." Reyna growled.

Persephone paused for a moment seemingly contemplating that thought. "Eh, I've been forced to endure that for years." She told Reyna before breaking out a huge grin. "And now I know why, it's freaking hilarious."

Reyna narrowed her eyes for another moment whilst Persephone retained her grin, obviously daring Reyna to give her any material for another quip."

It was Reyna who sighed first. "If it wasn't that you're kind of useful," she muttered loudly.

Persephone shook her head in return, still sporting the same grin.

"How's the work at the wall going?" Reyna asked her, an attempt to change the subject which was almost as see-through as the Lares who usually hung around the building.

But Persephone considered herself (occasionally) magnanimous in victory so she allowed Reyna to get away with that (for now).

"Much slower than I had anticipated." She confessed to Reyna. "With only the Fifth and Seventh making an actual effort to build it, it might take us another half a year before it get's up to the standard I would be willing to close both my eyes whilst sleeping."

"That bad?" Reyna asked her.

"They're skirting more corners than I deem safe and they spend too much time shirking their turn to build the actual wall then should have been allowed." Persephone told her in return.

The centurion sighed for a moment. "At the moment I am encouraging my smith and the more skilled craftsmen within my ranks to come up with several easily constructed barricades to reinforce the holes in the defence if something comes to pass."

"Would that explain the rumours about the chevaux de frise and mantlets I heard?" Reyna asked her.

Persephone tilted her head in return. "Does there happen anything in this camp you aren't aware of?" Persephone asked her in return, taking great care in keeping any kind of accusation out her voice.

"Before you were here?" Reyna asked her. "So far only Octavian has been capable of continuous hiding things for me."

"The encampment?" Reyna asked her, continuing her questions.

"As good as it gets." Persephone admitted. "They've even been gathering stones from far outside the valley. If it continues as it goes now, I'd say it's done in another month or so."

Despite the nature of that news, Persephone sounded far from pleased. Reyna couldn't help but agree with her. As it was now it seemed like the encampment, possibly in combination Temple Hill and the newly build, but rather isolated gatehouse at the entrance of the city would be the only places where there was any chance of holding an invader back in the case of danger. Which meant that the city was bound to burn if even a small force could get past them. And both Reyna and Persephone knew that if an enemy force was capable of getting inside of the valley, they were bound to get at least a small force past the legion as well.

That was exactly the problem, the stone gatehouse, Temple Hill and even the encampment, they were prestige projects. Something which would show off how powerful the Roman Camp was and how skilled the legionaries were. It was much more pleasing to work at something like that, knowing you were creating a monument for the ages rather than shovelling dirt in the knowledge that in a couple of months or even weeks you would be digging in the same spot because part of it had collapsed.

Simultaneously they were correct if they believed the legion could surround the city and the encampment with a ditch and some kind of fence or a palisade in a matter of days. The problem however was threefold, if something went wrong they would be forced to build that entire defence first, the second problem was they would be lacking at least two-third of the legionaries since those would be necessary to defend the builders. The third problem, well Beckendorf had once explained to Persephone that a proper stronghold should at least be sufficient to allow a defender to take on three times his own number if both the attacker and the defender were more or less even in skill. Persephone wouldn't even be willing to bet upon a happy outcome if they would come up against a similarly skilled opponent in the kind of reinforced position that the legion could throw up in a matter of days. Especially since not only would they most likely be a lot more outnumbered than three to one, unless one of the gods decided to separate the mountains, open up a tunnel in the earth or turned the rainbow into a bridge she doubted that five thousand demigods could rapidly escape the valley in the case of a defeat.

Both girls knew that and in truth so did most of the Roman's however the problem in this case was that the valley was almost like a natural fortress. Everyone knew that they risked everything if an enemy got into the valley, however few believed that it was possible.

Well aware of all of this, Octavian had encouraged the Fifth as well as the other cohorts to work at these more prestigious task. Of course he hadn't had the authority to give any orders to the other cohorts, but unfortunately there were plenty of laws and customs which required both praetor's agreement and not just one.

Reyna might have wanted them to pay more attention to the actual walls, however she simply couldn't risk the outcry which was bound to follow if she actually forced the issue. She knew there were plenty of people who wanted one praetor to become two again. A problem which was even more acute since there were always more ambitious people than there were positions of power, of which the most esteemed seemed currently only half-occupied. So far the only reason she had been capable of maintaining the status quo was by using subtlety, the respect and reputation which Jason still enjoyed, as well as the idea that he might return any minute and finally the fact that even upon her own she had done an excellent job.

"Well," muttered Reyna "It seems we'd better be praying that the monsters won't succeed in entering the Valley."

"Again." Muttered Persephone rather sourly.

"Again." Reyna agreed, sounding no less pleased about the issue herself.

"About that." She continued. "How reliable are your legionaries now?"

"What do you need them to?" Persephone asked her in return.

"To fill in several patrols."

Persephone tilted her head a bit and this time her eyes were a lot colder and more calculating than they had been before. Reyna had seen Persephone look that way only a few times before and truthfully she disliked that expression, especially when it was aimed at her. It was more than just an instant reminder that Persephone's adopted mother's domains extended to far more than merely marriage and motherhood, it made immediately clear why she had been able to earn the title of Monster Slayer.

"I don't believe even a single one of my centuries is ready to leave the protection of the Camp. Especially if the rumours I've heard about the monster attack contain so much as a hint of truth." Persephone told her pointedly, making Reyna sigh.

The praetor raised her open hands in a soothing gesture.

"I know, we agreed about that some weeks ago." Reyna admitted, sounding no more pleased about her request to push the Fifth into the fray before their commanding centurion made the request herself.

Reyna leaned back into her chair. "But I am afraid those rumours are more accurate than I wish they were. The monsters are getting more aggressive outside of the valley and so far there is no end to their numbers in sight."

Reyna pushed one other scroll in her direction. "Last week I had a few volunteers from the medics posted at the entrance of the tunnel, together with some bodyguards."

Persephone tilted her head again, but this time her eyes were merely curious rather than hawkish.

"I have been shuffling guards and patrols for the past week, whilst trying to keep the network around the camp intact." Reyna admitted to her. "And quite frankly I need your cohort to fill the gap if I want to keep myself from owing Octavian some favours."

"How hard have those medics been needed?" Asked Persephone.

Reyna gave her another sigh and taped the scroll she had shoved in Persephone's direction earlier.

The teenager threw a quick glance at the document.

"Three potential fatalities and seven severely wounded?" Persephone asked, almost paling. "Saturn's wrath! What has happened?"

"They're mostly younger campers." Reyna told her, "Fools who followed the monsters and went too far from their own lines or who tried to match them in single combat. However the monsters seem remarkably intent upon whittling our numbers down, despite their own losses."

For a moment Reyna paused with an obvious frown upon her forehead. "Currently I'd say we take almost fifteen of them out for every one of ours, which must be the highest ratio in over thirty years."

Persephone sighed and threw her head back, almost slamming it against the back from her chair.

"I see." Persephone whispered before sighing again. "The problem is I truly can't afford to commit the number of legionaries you most likely need."

"Then what can you offer me?" Reyna asked her.

"At the moment? I might be capable to scrape one patrol together for several evenings a week. In a couple of weeks, I might be able to add a second patrol to that, but more is impossible. I'll risk upsetting the statistics by losing maybe a dozen demigods if I send them out as they're now."

"One patrol might be enough for now, especially if you're willing to add some of your legionaries to the bodyguards of healers." Reyna told her in return, looking more than a bit relieved.

"I can..." Persephone told her with a small hesitation, "but only if you allow me to pick the centurion who's commanding those bodyguards."

Reyna stared at her for another moment, then she realised that Persephone was simply intending to keep them working with their trainers and she nodded, even so she had no intention of revealing that she would be allowing Persephone a word in those matters.

"Who will be leading your patrol?" Reyna asked her.

"I am." Persephone said in return, making absolutely clear that there was no force in the world which would keep her from commanding her legionaries in their first confrontation with the monsters.

Reyna chuckled at that for a moment. It wasn't as if the girl had expected the centurion to do anything else.

"You're looking forward to that?" Reyna asked her.

Persephone sighed. "In truth I am. Way more than I probably should, most likely too but I was never the type to stay at the camp whilst others did the fighting for me."

"And you think I am?" Reyna asked her, obviously daring her to say yes at that question.

In return Persephone threw her head back and laughed, not chuckled or sniggered, but a loud, almost roaring laughter than would be heard by anyone in the building.

"Would you like to join me?" Persephone asked her, whilst both already were aware of what Reyna's answer would be, what it had to be due to her duties.

"You know I can't." Reyna reminded Persephone and most likely herself too.

Both kept silent for a few moments whilst Persephone stood up and grasped a few documents from the table.

"How long has it been since you had the chance to wield a sword?" Persephone asked her whilst walking past Reyna.

"Too long." Reyna told Persephone whilst turning her head towards the older girl.

"Thought so." Persephone said to her in return whilst leaning against the wall. "How about tomorrow in the arena?"

"Are you challenging me?" Reyna asked her.

"I sure am." Persephone said whilst demonstratively rubbing the ring which was Anaklusmos's twin.

For a moment Reyna stared at her, then there was a notable pull at the corner of her lips.

"Challenge accepted." Reyna told her. "Will you go easy on me?"

"Absolutely not." Persephone replied before smirking. "But if you want I can kiss all the pain away afterwards."

Reyna blinked for a second, then she merely chuckled.

* * *

It was several hours later when Persephone went to bed that unknown to her in the great battle between Deities the first piece had been taken.

"What is going on?" Whispered Persephone to herself whilst holding the apple in her hand.

She carefully placed the piece of fruit into the bowl again and stepped back whilst letting some of the mist swirl around the apple.

"To Juno." She whispered once more, but again nothing happened.

"What could stop her mother from receiving or accepting her offering?" She wondered.

There was a metallic sound and then, even before Persephone had been aware she had uncapped Anaklusmos, the hilt of Riptide rested in her hand.

As far as she knew there were only two gods with the power and the reasons to do so and she doubted Jupiter or Poseidon would actually dare to go after Juno when admittedly she herself was a much easier target, then her adopted mother. And if it wasn't either of these two, then who was?

She hesitated for a moment then she returned the apple to the bowl. If she hadn't had a sign of her mother before the late morning she'd be visiting Temple Hill and even Octavian if that was what it took.

"Saving a goddess," Persephone thought rather wryly, "well that takes me a couple of years back."

* * *

 _Mind giving me your opinion of the chapter in a review?_


	10. Chapter 10

**I am alive!**

 **For those who wonder about my absence, I had a car-accident at the end of februari (no worries, nobody was harmed), but apart from the two cars, it seemed this temporarily took my inspiration to write out of action.**

 **Whether this was caused by an intervention of a certain God or merely a moment of old-fashioned human stupidity I leave up to you.**

 **As always I owe my beta, Lord Protector Corvo Attano a thank you for the effort it must have taken to read through these 18000 words.**

* * *

 **Disclaimer: So far I have had absolutely no involvement with the canon series of Percy Jackson or RWBY and I doubt that will change in the near future. (And I suspect every relation of Poseidon will use their veto if the alternative would ever be suggested)**

* * *

The teenage daughter of Juno stared with a heated expression at the apple she had placed into bowl upon her nightstand. The intensity of her glare was such that if she would have retained one of the more "spectacular" abilities from her godly parent, the apple, cabinet and most likely most of her cabin as well as the adjacent one would have been destroyed.

However the former daughter of Poseidon no longer had the power to call forth a hurricane, create a flood or cause an earthquake and neither had she inherited a gift similar to Jason, Thalia, Nico or a certain and to her still unknown Latino elf with a gift to annoy people.

So despite her desire to see the piece of fruit disappear, it kept laying into the bowl from where it made the cold feeling in her stomach gradually expand.

A soft growl escaped her lips which parted only to have the reveal of her teeth accompany the sound, then she swore softly.

She turned her head away from the cabinet and reached up towards the headrest of her bed and grasped the watch which lay there.

Throwing a quick look at the watch, she sighed again.

"6:17." She sighed with further disappointment before rolling upon her side to aim a glare at the wall.

Persephone hesitated for another moment before she muttered, "Screw this!" and kicked the sheets back.

A short shudder went through her body when she planted her bare feet upon the cold floor, then she stood up and reached for the hem of her shirt.

Without a second thought she launched the shirt in which she had slept in the direction of the basket which she had intended for them.

She groaned softly and brushed her fingers through her hair, with that action dispelling the worst of the "raven mist" which had lingered in front of her eyes.

Still, it was a far cry from the centurion of the Fifth whom she saw in the mirror of her bathroom.

Cupping her hands, Persephone allowed some water to pour into them and splashed that onto her face before repeating that action a couple of times.

She hesitated for a moment and sighed then. She needed something to take her mind of things and it was way too early for the match against Reyna.

That left few things, especially since how early the hour was.

She hesitated for another moment since she didn't want to and even feared to return to her former pattern but she knew she couldn't afford to been seen as being on edge.

Another sigh and she dropped her underwear upon the floor and went to the door of the small shower stall at the back of her bathroom.

* * *

The girl who left the bathroom an hour later was much more akin to the centurion to which the Fifth had become accustomed. Perhaps a bit paler, more tired looking than usual but definitely the same woman who had singlehandedly broken through their shield wall during one of their exercises.

Deciding that if she wasn't going to get some more sleep anyway she could just as well get out and do something useful, or at least attempt to relax in a better atmosphere than her still dark room.

Remembering her appointment with Reyna in the arena, Persephone bound her hair in a bun for the moment, this would allow her to pull her hauberk over her head without most of her hair suffering a particularly painful demise.

First she reached for the purple shirt which was worn by every camper. It was one of the simpler and lighter models which in truth was slightly too big for her, but at least it wasn't likely to hinder or slow her down at the wrong moment. Her pants were likewise made to be practical rather than to flatter her figure. However the cloth was strong and sturdy, the kind that wasn't likely to tear itself to shreds when caught by brambles during a desperate escape from a band of angry centaurs and simultaneously light enough to be worn on a long, hot day when she could actually suspect she would be forced to make such scramble through the undergrowth.

"Oh the joys of a demigod's life." She thought sarcastically whilst she reached for her mail.

She lifted the hem of her hauberk in semi-obscene gesture and felt the resistance of the mail increase, almost making it seem as if the weight of the metal increased with every inch the lower and upper rings of mail came closer.

Careful to keep her mail as close together as it was, she first pushed her left hand through the hauberk until it found the hole from nearly non-existent sleeve. A moment later she stabbed her second arm through the matching gap as well.

She took a deep breath until she felt the weight of each from the thirty thousand rings upon her arms and then raised her arms up until the mail began sliding downwards.

A pleased sigh escaped her lips once Persephone felt the familiar weight from the mail pressing down upon her shoulders and she reached for a broad and rather heavy looking belt which was adorned with several bronze plaques, each of these was decorated with the picture of the eye from a peacock's tail. This had been an order she placed by Ruby some weeks ago and she herself had been rather pleased by the result, Ruby on the other hand been less impressed, blaming her own lack of experience with celestial bronze for this.

Still heavy or not, the belt removed quite a bit from the pressure upon her shoulders which made moving a lot easier, something she tested immediately by calling Anaklusmos and its twin forth and making a few experimental slashes with both blades.

Once she was pleased with the ease with which she could control both blades, she reached for the final pieces of her armour, the leather manicae which she quickly strapped to her arms.

Her helmet she left at her cabin, as she would have ample time to retrieve it before the afternoon when she would be leading the training of the Fifth. Since she would have several hours until then, she'd rather spend them without sticking out like sore thumb due to the red crest of her helmet.

* * *

Once she had left her own place she made her way to New Rome.

As far as she knew she had no real reason why she followed the Via Pretoria to reach the city. In fact she was almost halfway the Field when she actually realised she was walking towards the town.

For a moment she contemplated halting or even swerving around, towards Temple Hill or even to Berkeley Hills and to follow the aqueduct for a while.

She really didn't feel up for meeting with other humans at the moment. That had been an impression she had become rather accustomed to until some months ago and it felt rather frustrating to recognise those symptoms again.

Persephone snickered for a moment, it was a dry sound that contained no happiness, what it did contain was mostly self-disgust.

There had been some truth in the idea they had developed of her in Camp Half-Blood: she had become too accustomed to war and in return peace made her restless even to a demigod's standard.

So, there she was again, back at being one of the fiercest proponents of the preparations for a war which she felt wasn't over, once again the most hated girl in the camp and perhaps, once more a daughter without a parent.

"There was a saying," Persephone thought rather wryly, "you can run from your past but you won't be able to keep ahead of it. Whoever it was that had come up with that wisdom, he might just have been a demigod."

Persephone sighed again and continued down the path she had taken, something which she had become rather accustomed to ever since she discovered her father's parenthood.

"Here I am again," she thought wryly, "all but ready to run another gauntlet."

Despite Juno's domains, she felt more like a servant doing her duties than a queen who was reigning. How ironic for someone who had always had prided herself upon her mettle and defiance.

It was not something she liked to show, but she felt tired, so very tired. She had weathered the storm for so long and now what she really wanted was find a place to rest her weary head.

She sighed and raised her head for a moment, she recognise some of the statues upon the low wall to the northeast, the garden of Bacchus.

She knew the place from her visits with Reyna and Persephone understood easily why the praetor had liked the garden. It was not so much a classical garden as well as a maze of ancient statues, benches and low walls made of stone which had been mostly allowed to be reclaimed by nature. Numerous bushes and trees further added new shades of green to the ever-present moss and grass.

Just sitting there had been a remarkably soothing experience, especially for a place which carried the name of one of the most wilfully useless, aggravating and peace-upsetting gods. Even after only a few moments, she had understood why the otherwise overlaboured Praetor took some time off to unwind there.

For a moment, Persephone stood there. She knew there was an entrance to the gardens a few streets to the left.

Then she chuckled and in a fit of her old rebelliousness she headed straight for the wall, which was no higher than the size of a rather big man.

There stood a low wooden couch next the wall and Persephone used this and its back as set of stairs before launching herself towards the top of the wall. It took her little more than seconds before she planted her boots between the roots and the moss on the other side of the wall.

Childish as it might have been and most definitely contrary to the example she was supposed to set, it felt rather liberating to go against the rules again.

Her mind taken away from her troubles for the moment, she took a deep breath and smiled, before setting course to what she suspected was the direction of the centre.

Once again Persephone lost her sense of time and place. The garden was big but more importantly, it was not to unlike a maze in which you could wander for a while as long as you paid no attention to your environment and you weren't that tall. According to what Reyna had told her during their earliest visit, it wasn't too unusual for parents with young children to let the younglings loose in the corridors of the Garden of Bacchus whilst they themselves seated themselves somewhere nearby, preferably at the terrace of one of the nearby bars or restaurant.

However no matter how many children there might be in the Garden during noon, in the morning and during the evening or night, it was quiet and empty. A peaceful place, which made all pressure and stress seem far off.

And for a while Persephone embraced this trait from the Garden by simply wandering there. Eventually the young woman reached one of her preferred spots in the Garden, a place next the centre of the Garden. This spot was rather small, a corner which if you wanted to, gave you an excellent view upon the centre of the labyrinth. Unfortunately this centre was "adorned" with the marble of statue of the god who had given his name to the garden. Even if she hadn't been entirely bereft of affection or even respect for said God, why someone would want to stare at the marble figure of an overweight man with a way too skimpy leopard skin was an utter mystery to her.

There was a time, Persephone remembered, when Rome had outlawed the Bacchus-cult and Persephone rather wished it had stayed that way.

Unsurprisingly Persephone favourite place in the Garden had her conveniently turn her head away from the statue. Instead she tended to stare at the much more picturesque image of a tree which had somehow wrapped itself around a stone table and the broken statue of a nymph or maenad against a background of more green.

It was all very... relaxing and so unlike the Bacchus, well the Dionysus, she knew that she actually wondered why it had been named after him. If she would have had to have it connected to a god or preferably a goddess, she would have picked Flora or even Proserpina. Especially since she could recall the actual gardens of the underworld and could easily imagine either her or Nico's father attempting to recreate a place like these in there.

Persephone grinded her teeth together and attempted to dispel her memory of that time.

Then she seated herself and rested the side of shoulder against one of nearby trees.

For a moment she pushed one hand down into her right pocket and fished her disguised weapon up.

Half-distracted Persephone slipped a finger over the tip of Riptide's pen-form. A moment later she frowned and then there was the, to her, familiar metallic sound which accompanied the pen's expansion into a sword.

She felt the weight of Zoe's legacy rest in her hand, it was a feeling she was accustomed to and it felt comfortable due to this familiarity.

Carefully, handling her weapon in way that was more akin to the way someone would handle glass or porcelain rather than the heavy celestial bronze Persephone placed the weapon upon her lap.

The girl slowly wrapped her fingers around the black leather of her hilt whilst brushing her thump against the horse head which served both as a pommel and a knuckleduster.

Riptide felt warm, not cold or even cool, like it always had. Even in the heat of a desert, in the middle of what seemed to become a minor blizzard or after taking a dive into a river, Riptide always felt warm, like a hand which had its fingers entwined with hers.

Persephone sighed and grasped the hilt of her sword a bit tighter so she could control the weapon once again and then brushed her fingers almost caressing over the letters which had been written upon the blade of the weapon.

Only a moment later, she raised her head up and pointed her gaze towards the southern sky where she caught a glimpse of a silver twinkle.

It could have been a trick of the light or more likely simply self-delusion, but Persephone had learned a long time ago that life was a horribly bleak existence if she continually decided to rely upon reason or what was supposed to be common sense.

She smiled instead. "Even now you're watching over all of us, aren't you, Zoe?" Persephone whispered.

She leaned a bit back and sighed, before curling her lips into a small smile once more.

"I wonder whether you'd know what's going right now." She said.

"I suspect everyone wonders about that." replied another voice.

Disturbed, Persephone instantly turned her head around whilst her hand reversed her hold upon the sword, returning it to a proper grip. Her other hand pushed against the trunk of the tree whilst she jumped up, making only a single knee rest upon the ground in less than a second. It had taken Persephone scarcely a moment to turn from completely unaware in what seemed not unlike a predator rising to a challenge.

A few feet away from her, Reyna blinked for a moment and Persephone recognised the motion of the praetor's hand towards her own side.

Persephone took a deep breath before sighing again and lowered Riptide.

"There is no need for that." She said whilst pointing her empty hand at the golden coin which Reyna had taken from her own pocket.

"For a moment I thought you had forgotten our spar is not until a couple of hours." Reyna told her making Persephone throw her a small smile in return.

"I was distracted and you surprised me." Persephone told her. "I hadn't expected anyone."

"So I noticed." Reyna replied."You were talking to yourself?" Reyna paused for a moment and gave her a small smile. "Or the trees?"

Persephone shook her head before resuming her previous position.

"No, to the stars." She said with a small, but more teasing smile than Reyna's had been.

"An old friend." She continued when Reyna frowned. "Zoë."

"A good one, I take it?" Reyna asked her whilst seating herself next to the centurion.

Persephone sighed. "Not as good you'd assume." She said dejectedly, "But she could have been."

Reyna stared at her with obvious confusion after those words.

"She died before I knew her for so much as a month." Persephone explained to Reyna whilst she resumed her earlier position.

"Yet she made quite an impression upon you." Reyna said whilst seating herself next to her.

"If there ever was one descendant of the Immortals whom I saw as an example it was her." Persephone admitted.

"She was a figure who always stood apart from the others. Proud and skilful, often appearing cold or even cruel with a disdain for many." Persephone said. "But more than all that, she was elegant and lively with occasional showings of kindness and care. But most of all she was loyal and brave." Persephone whispered and she lowered her head. "I can't help but feel small when I think of her, both her loyalty and bravery make my own seem so little."

Persephone stared at Riptide. "She gifted me this weapon." Persephone said whilst offering the hilt to Reyna for a moment. "I don't think I ever was as proud as I felt when she returned it to me or the moment she told I was a friend."

"How did she die?" Reyna asked her whilst wrapping an arm around Persephone.

"Diana was captured by Atlas at the time. There was prophecy that one of those who would attempt to save her would die by a father's hand. She was the leader of Diana's Huntresses and in this case more importantly, Atlas's daughter! In hindsight I know she was aware she would die if she went on that quest." Persephone told her. "She still was the first to volunteer."

Persephone sighed again. "Atlas killed her after she saved me from his spear. I couldn't defeat him, just hold him back for a while."

"Which is far more than most demigods ever could say." Reyna told her, almost sounding admonishing but there still was a comforting arm around Persephone.

Persephone smiled a little, but it was a hollow one which made clear how much comfort she gained from being a better swordsman than most, none. However, small as it was, the smile still showed she appreciated the attempt.

"She did what I couldn't do and faced off against her father on her own whilst I freed Diana." At that Persephone instinctively reached for the strand of grey hair which she had retained from the bearing of the sky. Reyna noticed the gesture, as well as the colour of the strand of hair but decided to keep silent about that, for now.

"Diana was fast, faster than I could ever hope to be, but even she wasn't fast enough." Persephone continued. "Zoe was dying when Diana send her to the stars as the Huntress."

Persephone sighed again and lowered her head momentarily whilst Reyna seemed to tighten the grasp of her arm around Persephone.

"Your Zoë, was she Zoë Nightshade?" Reyna asked her, instantly realising that this was not kind of ending of their conversation upon which Persephone should have her thoughts centred.

Persephone nodded in return. "You've heard of her?" Persephone asked the praetor whilst meeting her gaze.

"There have been a few mentions of her in the books about her arrival in the camp and meetings between her, the Huntresses and our own patrols." Reyna admitted. "Most of the mentions were rather short, like her words to them when they met."

"She was far more than a cold Huntress." Persephone muttered whilst once again looking away. "She deserved far more."

"When I hear you tell about her, I feel you are right." Reyna agreed. "But she'll be remembered as such, by you and those who knew her. Even if she sacrificed herself, it wasn't in vain and that is a victory which cannot be tainted, not even by death. And that is the legacy she left behind."

Persephone gave another sigh before her lips curled into a small smile for a moment. "Perhaps." She admitted.

Reyna shook her head, recognising that whilst not ineffectual, her words hadn't exactly been as effective as she had hoped they had been.

"The way you describe her, she remind me of you." Reyna told her, suspecting that a less grandiloquent approach might have more success. These words made Persephone look up for a single moment.

"Somehow I doubt that." Persephone whispered, whilst looking away.

Reyna chuckled and pulled Persephone a bit closer, making the older teen rest her head upon the Praetor's shoulder.

"A great warrior, proud, experienced and intelligent, appearing cold and seemingly enjoying the suffering from her pupils whilst in truth constantly taking care of them?" Reyna asked her.

"Zoe could play a bit nicer with her Huntresses than I could with the legionaries." Persephone objected which made Reyna chuckle again.

"If that's the only difference between you two." She said to Persephone. "I am sure she would understand though."

Reyna chuckled for a moment. "Besides if what I read about their attitude towards campers and more specifically male campers is correct, she'd most likely encourage your treatment of them."

The motions of Persephone's head made Reyna suspect that other teenager was repressing a chuckle after her words.

"If it isn't too personal." Reyna asked her. "What prompted this? You're looking as if you still could use some hours of sleep."

Persephone raised her head from Reyna's shoulder and sighed.

For a moment it seemed to Reyna that she had pushed a bit too far and she carefully removed her arm from around Persephone, but then Persephone sighed again and lowered her head, until it was once more resting upon Reyna's shoulder.

Reyna could feel how vulnerable the other teen felt at that moment and instantly brought her arm back around Persephone.

"It's just a hunch." Persephone muttered and paused almost as if waiting for Reyna to confirm that, but that didn't happen.

"It's my mother, Juno." Persephone began. "I haven't been able to contact her since last night."

"That's, well, not exactly unusual."Reyna replied. "Most of us only get to meet them once, when they claim us."

Persephone sighed. "Yes, I have been spoiled by her contacting me much more often, I know." She muttered, before shaking her head. "It's not like that."

"I sacrificed some fruit to her last night and she didn't claim her sacrifice." Persephone said and that actually made Reyna frown. Sacrifices, whether great or small, where connected to a deity's power and there was not a single god or goddess who wasn't eager for a gift. It was rare for one of the immortals to refuse such a sacrifice. When they did it was usually due to nature of a gift, said sacrifice being more akin to insult than a true gift, or the provider having somehow fallen out of favour.

Reyna knew the girl well enough to know that Persephone was utterly terrified of the second option, however simultaneously Reyna and fortunately for the other teenager's sanity, so did Persephone, doubted that was the case.

"I've only had an Immortal refuse my sacrifices twice, Diana when Atlas kept her imprisoned and my dad, just before he disinherited me." Persephone said, whilst noticeable grinding her teeth at the mention of her father.

The centurion shook her head. "I am praying this is simply some case of a faulty connection", she muttered. "Because I have half of a mind to invade the Empire State Building upon my own if that's what it takes to get upon Mother's trail."

If anyone else would have said such a thing, Reyna would most likely have laughed, but she could tell Persephone was meaning every word of it.

"I'd wait at least until we could have had Octavian check upon that." Reyna said rapidly whilst perhaps for the first in her life feeling grateful for the descendant of Apollo's presence in the legion.

"Relax, I had every intention to do so first." Persephone told Reyna with a small, but obviously amused smile. "I am not storming into the meeting of the Gods whilst brandishing my swords...yet."

Reyna stared at her for another moment than she chuckled.

"At least that's a relief." Reyna deadpanned.

"How come you're here?" Persephone asked in return, a slight curving from the corner of her mouth removed whatever harshness that could have been contained by the question.

"I simply woke up and found myself unable to sleep." Reyna told her, before adding quickly. "Which is quite unusual."

Despite that addition, Persephone couldn't help but wonder whether Reyna was lying about the last part, but she figured that it didn't matter for the moment.

Instead she shot the other teenager a kind smile. "Then I guess I owe Somnus my gratitude for this exception because I am quite pleased with your company." She said whilst brushing her head against Reyna's shoulder.

Reyna chuckled for a moment.

"Was there someone for you as well?" Persephone asked Reyna.

"What do you mean?" Reyna asked her in return.

"Your own Zoë," the centurion clarified. "Before I became a warrior I looked for an example, an inspiration if you will, to guide me on the path I would have to take."

Persephone shook her head. "There were many warriors, some more skilful, brave or noble than others but each of them was so different than what I ever wished to be and so I thought, that perhaps I was doing it wrong or even that the battlefield was not a place for me."

The daughter of Juno paused for a moment. "And then I saw Zoe, brave, intelligent, someone who led by example and so obviously in the place she had wanted to be."

Persephone snorted. "I was not the only female warrior at the time, but by the Gods I was proud that she was a girl like me and at the time I wanted more than anything to stand by her side."

Persephone shook her head again. "I don't think I could have ever been as proud to wield this sword if it wasn't for her."

The centurion tilted her head before speaking. "Was there someone for you as well?" She asked Reyna. "Not that you'd need to tell me if you'd prefer not to." She added quickly after that.

Reyna sighed, removed her arm from around Persephone and leaned a bit backwards, next to her She felt Persephone's hand brush against hers.

Reyna sighed for a moment. "Hylla," She muttered.

"Your sister?" Persephone asked her.

"We used to be close," Reyna said, "when we were younger, she always tried to protect me, keep me safe and later she did so again."

Reyna's lips curled momentarily into a sad smile. "She gained a scar upon her forehead during our travels to protect me."

Reyna sighed. "Hylla was a survivor above all else. She taught me a lot about bravery, loyalty, and not giving up despite whatever might happen."

"What happened between you two?" Persephone asked her.

"Some words we never wanted to say and some ideas we never could agree upon." Reyna told her before sighing. "Trust me, it has a reason the Amazons were willing to accept her as their queen."

Persephone decided not to ask any more details about whatever had happened between the two sisters. It was quite obvious to her that Reyna had told her everything she had been willing to tell her for the moment.

"How is your relationship with your brother?" Reyna asked her.

"I still haven't been able to see him for several months now." Persephone admitted, "One of things I hope will change soon."

"Is it likely?" Reyna asked her.

"I don't know." Persephone told her. "It is still complicated." She paused to sigh for a moment. "Way more complicated than the situation ever should have been."

"Nothing is ever simple when you're a demigod." Reyna said with a wry smile.

Persephone chuckled and added with an impish voice: "or a teenager."

"And we're both." Reyna continued whilst gaining a matching smile.

Both sighed and leaned back against the tree.

"For what it is worth." Reyna told her whilst placing her hand upon Persephone's cheek and gently pushed that in the direction of her own face. "I hope you'll see your brother again soon and from what you told me about her, I know Zoe would be proud to stand by you."

She sighed again for a moment and smiled at Persephone. "I know I am."

The daughter of Juno chuckled, but simultaneously she could feel her cheeks heat up.

"Thank you," she whispered quite a bit shyer than she had intended her voice to be.

Reyna could feel the pressure upon her arm and shoulder shift when Persephone seemed to lean a bit deeper against her. Reyna hesitated for a moment and then raised one of her arms and placed her limb against Persephone's back.

It was a rather awkward hug, but it felt surprisingly comfortable.

Reyna wondered for a moment, whether the other girl was imagining Zoë, Juno or even another person whilst hugging her.

"Thank you, Reyna" repeated Persephone. "So glad you're with me. So proud to stand with you."

Reyna closed her eyes for a moment and felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around her and a bit unusually, she felt no need to push them away.

"Perhaps Persephone was still somewhat aware who she was holding." Reyna thought.

For a moment Reyna imagined Zoe Nightshade, a girl of whom she had only the faintest idea about her appearance, but in her imagination Zoë was relatively small, with long black hair and a skin which was far paler than it had ever been in real life. Quite frankly her vision of the Huntress was much closer to Persephone than Diana or the actual handmaiden.

Then she remembered her own inspiration again, her sister Hylla like she had been at the end of their time with Blackbeard and his screw. Hylla had been dressed in little more than rags at the time, but she had pointed a boarding axe at every pirate who had intended to stop her sister whilst she was sawing with a dagger through the ropes of one of the lifeboats. For a few moments it had seemed that the treat of the edge of Hylla's axe would be enough to withhold them from attacking, then Hands, one of Blackbeard's lieutenants, had thrown his head back and laughed which had broken the magic of the moment and prompted the first of the pirates to attack.

The battle had been raging when the lifeboat finally hit the surface of the water and Reyna threw herself overboard to reach it.

She had still been able to hear the battle intensifying until a pained and obviously female cry had erupted from the deck and a moment later the sound of two splashes had followed the outcry. The first had been Hylla's weapon which had begun it's descent to the bottom of the sea. Hylla had fallen only moments later and Reyna had instantly released her hold upon the small dinghy to reach her sister.

Several feet above them Reyna had noticed several of the pirates look down upon them, a few of them armed with muskets which still rested half forgotten against the board of the ship. Hands was one of these men, and like often had been the case the man seemed more amused by them than anything else.

Another face she could recognise instantly had appeared by then and his presence had been far less reassuring, Black Caesar, one of Blackbeard's remaining lieutenants. Reyna knew both men as experienced and talented sailors and warriors who were extremely loyal to their captain, but whereas Hands was rather relaxed with a certain fondness for storytelling, Black Caesar had shown a much greater cold-heartedness and such obvious lack of caring towards their needs that it couldn't have been but by design.

Reyna easily remembered the man pointing his pistol at her whilst she attempted to push her exhausted sister into the boat before she saw Hands push the barrel of the weapon upwards, away from them.

The pirate spoke only a single sentence against the other lieutenant but it was enough for him to push his weapon back into his belt.

For a moment Reyna had simply sat there, gazing up to the group of men who stood there upon the deck looking down upon them before they grew once again bored with the lack of spectacle which had become their escape and they resumed their duties.

Then she had been woken up from her confusion by a loud laugh.

Hylla like her had been dressed in the remains of their uniform at Circe's Isle, which by now had turned into rags which would have been refused by most beggars (unless they truly were desperate), the tattered remains had been soaked by the salt water, Hylla herself was still coated by a layer of filth that would require another three scrubbings with clean water before it would be gone, the older teenager was bleeding from a pair of wounds, one of these would turn into the scar upon her brow, both of them were hungry and thirsty with only a supply of food and water for another two days and neither of them was armed.

But still Hylla had been laughing. The exhausted teenager had grabbed her sister and shot her the brightest smile, Reyna had seen until then. "We're free, sister," Hylla had told her, still sporting that smile. "We're free."

"Now all what remains is to find ourselves somewhere safe." Reyna had told her with a tired voice.

"We will," Hylla had said to her in return. "We'll find ourselves a place we're safe, a place where no man will ever dare to try to order us around."

Reyna sighed, Hylla had been the only one of them two who had been capable of matching one of the pirates at the time and that hadn't been the case by lack of effort on her side at the time.

Both their time upon Blackbeard's ship and the occasional assaults of the pirates upon the isles in the Sea of Monsters, had showed the sisters the hard way of how little it meant to be the daughter of the Goddess of war without proper training. Blackbeard however had realised as much as well though, the pirate had needed more manpower to regain his reign of terror over the sea after Circe had cut it off rather abruptly.

Even more disappointing to them, Reyna found out that this hadn't been a case of conflicting morals or even a desire of Circe to keep a certain amount of peace and balance in the area, instead it had been a selfish and even foolish decision of a goddess who believed herself justified in her decisions by this heritage. Circe had turned the pirate into a guinea pig in a conflict over the servants which the pirate had supplied her with. Most mortals would have dealt more cautiously with a goddess like her, but Blackbeard at the time had believed himself safe from her wrath since he had been the only threat which kept the Lastrygonians contained within the borders of their islands.

None of the Lastrygonians had ever dared to attack Circe's Isle during their expansion, so the discovery of what the presence of this single race of monsters had meant to the other demigods and races had been an eye-opener to both of them.

Blackbeard had been far from pleased with this discovery though and instantly began recruiting another crew, some of these were mortals, others demigods and there was even the occasional monster who volunteered. But others had to be pressed into their ranks and the pirates had been more than eager to see Circe's servants thrown into the fray as well. The training they gave the girls was crude, cruel, violent and frequently humiliating, in hindsight Reyna suspect that at least some of them had been far more interested in seeing them broken than in seeing them turn into capable warriors.

Reyna knew that, throughout the training and the first gruelling assaults upon the towns and shelters which Blackbeard had picked as his target, Hylla had imagined their enemies as green eyed and tanned, and for a while so did she. So she had trained in the hope of one day facing the girl who had burned her world down and for a long time, the green eyed Persephone served as their measuring stick.

But once they had escaped the ship that desire had slowly begun to fade away. Persephone and Annabeth had destroyed their home, but it had been a home whose head had happily sacrificed so many others to guard their safety and her ego.

Reyna had been happy there though and she had loathed her stay by the pirates, but she found out that she could not dislike what she had become. No longer being forced to keep her eyes down, to dress and act according to the rules of someone else like at Circe's or to be kicked and pushed around according to the desires of whomever was the strongest like at Blackbeard's ship. To have at least some measure of freedom, but also to have a goal which she could work towards. Their arrival in the Roman Camp reintroduced her to disciple and stern rules, but as much she had began to dislike letting someone decide for her, she found out she liked the disciple a lot.

Truth to be told she quickly realised she loved her life as a Roman much more than she ever enjoyed her life as a servant. She did not realise how much she had changed until she made contact with another group of Circe's handmaidens whom had run off during one Blackbeard's earlier raids whilst she and Hylla had been fighting side by side in the service of the pirates. They had disgusted her, at one moment haughty demanding, at another almost begging, following whomever showed some authority and utterly useless at the first hint of danger. As if that hadn't been enough, they had seemed so out of touch with the world that Reyna had been torn between laughing, crying and screaming in utter frustration.

Hylla hadn't been half as taken with the Camp as Reyna had been though and it had kept steering her sister into trouble.

Usually this would have been frustrating to Reyna, however unlike Hylla who had seemed intent upon destroying everything they had build up in the Legion, Reyna had been enjoying a lot of respect as a capable legionnaire and a promising candidate for the higher ranks. This went so far that Reyna had found herself after barely a year as a shoe in for the rank of optio, which was something rarely seen in the Legion. Unfortunately Hylla ruined that revelation by causing another row which saw all Reyna's hope for that promotion instantly dashed.

The aftermath of that discovery sparkled the biggest argument the sisters ever had and saw Hylla leave the Camp and join up with Amazons. Reyna wondered when it was that Hylla had somehow reverted to whom she had been before. There was no way that the tantrum throwing teenager who had been mucking around in New Rome could have been the same woman who had shot up through the ranks of the Amazons.

* * *

Reyna sighed, she had loved Hylla and still did, but unlike Persephone she couldn't remember her inspiration with the same reverence as Persephone recalled Zoe. For that, there had been too much bitterness between the two of them and just an occasional letter between them did not succeed in erasing the hurt between them, even if it did somehow made the gap between them somewhat less wide.

Reyna shook her head and focused upon Persephone whom had kept holding on to her.

The older girl had remained somewhat of a mystery to her, even with all she had learned of her thus far or simultaneously everything she kept from her and the Romans. Reyna couldn't help but wonder about what would happen if she ever found the courage to ask Persephone about Circe's island.

Would Persephone tell her and if she did what would her answer be? Yes or no?

And if she did so, what would it mean to her?

Once Reyna had hated the green eyed invader with a burning passion but with time that had slowly faded away. Could she blame that Persephone for the destruction of her home if she didn't even know why she did so? Furthermore, if she would have been given the choice between the two, she would pick her current home every time over Circe's Isle.

More importantly, Reyna hated and even loathed what she had been, what Circe had turned her into. She wasn't certain whether it had been magic or simply the ease of the life there which had made her enjoy the empty existence at the Isle. She did know that it was those green eyes which had kept her going for years. It was ironic, but as her measuring stick the green eyed Persephone had been as much an inspiration to her as her sister had been.

And now so many years, they might have met again except for the fact that the hazel eyed Persephone appeared so very different from the green eyed girl.

Reyna knew the Fates were laughing at her, all those years she had trained in the hope of one day beating the green eyed homewrecker and now she might have the chance and yet she didn't knew.

What would happen if she bested her, something Reyna in all sincerity doubted. Reyna knew she was great with a sword or a spear but Jason had been better and Persephone had clearly been able to match him blow for blow. It seemed almost as if the Fates were mocking her efforts.

More importantly though was the fact that she simply wasn't certain whether she wanted both girls to be one and the same person. The daughter of Juno was a friend, she was supportive, occasionally a nuisance and obviously liked being with her and she found herself caring for her in return. Reyna wasn't really certain whether she wanted to find out Persephone was connected to her time as a member of Blackbeard's crew. Simultaneously she had to admit that she somewhat liked the idea of Persephone having a bit more in common with her and the idea that she finally could test herself against her own measuring stick.

Somehow she knew that she had to fix that mess and no matter how it turned out, she feared she would be left feeling a bit more empty.

Reyna sighed but smiled a bit wider when she felt Persephone press herself a bit harder against her. "We could stay like that for another while," Reyna thought, "at least for as long we're left unperturbed."

* * *

"So which one would you pick, Blake?" Ruby asked the other girl whilst she picked another strip of leather from the seat next to her upon which she had dumped her remaining materials.

Blake who had been seated next to her didn't bother to look up from the latest line in the book she was currently reading. "The black one." She said rather morosely.

This reaction prompted an annoyed outcry of "Blake", from Ruby and a snigger from Yang who had been seated next to Blake.

"Hm, what?" asked Blake return only to jump when Yang poked her in the side.

"What?" She muttered whilst glaring alternatively at Yang and Ruby.

"The tools, which one would you pick?" Ruby asked her.

Blake sighed and aimed another look at the pair of climbing axes which Ruby had brought with them.

Both tools were made of stygian iron, a black metal which seemed to pulsate with a vague dark purple light which gave it an unsettling appearance. The shape of the tool did absolutely nothing to counter that rather menacing impression. The head of the axe resembled a sleek, curved beak but the underside of that beak seemed not unlike a jagged row of teeth. Ruby had claimed it was a tool meant for rock-climbing or mountaineering and yet, somehow Blake's mind couldn't help but imagine that it was weapon which would rip through flesh or worse, some part of her mind recalled stories of cursed weapons which were fated to take a life whenever they were drawn.

Blake was perfectly willing to believe that the centurion had indeed ordered Ruby to make those axes solely because Persephone believed that at some part in the future they would need to go mountaineering or so, however she wished more than anything else that the weapons would have been made from another kind of metal. She wished that almost as hard as she was currently hoping that Ruby would stop grinning whenever she was holding one of the weapons. Ever since she had been giving the order to make those axes, Ruby had acted as if she was in a daze to the point that Blake was wondering whether it was possible for a demigoddess to fall in love with a weapon. Either that or those stories about cursed weapons might contain a bit more truth than she was comfortable with.

Furthermore Blake would swear that she had seen Ruby talk against the weapons and call them sweetheart at several occasions.

Blake sighed, it was the situation with Ruby's first crossbow all over again, except this time nobody was holding her back. She shivered at the thought of how she might act if Rhodian Rose would be completed before this daze was over.

Blake sighed again and reached for the first climbing axe which Ruby offered her.

"It's" Blake started whilst giving the weapon a few experimental swings which made some of the nearby seated spectators turn their head around and look at the weapon with some obvious discomfort, "feeling remarkably good in my hand." Blake admitted.

"The grip isn't too rough for wielding with your bare hands?" Ruby asked her.

"Not at the moment." Blake replied, although not without suspecting that Ruby would have her rue those words after the battle between Reyna and their centurion.

"And the curve, it isn't too big?" Ruby continued her interrogation whilst next to her, Blake heard Yang guffawing although Ruby was still too disconnected from everything that wasn't a weapon to notice her.

For a moment Blake frowned. "Which curve?" she wondered. "The blade or the one just underneath the head?"

As if to answer her still unasked question, Ruby pointed at the inside of the palm of her hand.

Opening her own hand, Blake noticed a small curve at the hilt which she knew was supposed to improve her grip upon the weapon.

"I guess it fit's rather well in my hand." Blake muttered, prompting Yang to show an even bigger grin whilst Ruby sported a pleased at the compliment.

"How many of those things do you have at the moment, sis?" Yang asked her after she made poor attempt to hide her earlier grin. It was only now that Blake realised why the blonde brawler had found her earlier words so funny.

"Oh, not many, just a few prototypes of different designs for testing." Ruby told her.

"Which translates into seven different designs and four different alloys." Mumbled a piqued sounding Weiss. The girl fixed Ruby with a glare before looking down upon the chair next to Ruby and after giving the remaining climbing axe a glare as if it had just spat her in the face, she dropped the tool into Ruby lap.

Both Blake and Weiss narrowed their eyes, whilst Yang once more began her (according to a full half of their quartet) obnoxious guffawing when Ruby instantly cradled the tool to her chest.

"What?" Asked Ruby when she noticed the reaction of the three girls.

"I'd rather not explain it." Muttered Blake before fixing Yang with her own variant of a cold glare. "And I'd like it even less if a certain someone else would attempt to do so."

Weiss nodded instantly. "Indeed, that would be far better for everyone's sanity."

Yang on the other hand instantly gained a huge grin and said. "You see Ruby when a girl loves some..." Her words were cut off by Blake smacking her book against Yang's forehead.

"Thank you," muttered Weiss whilst she seated herself.

"You're welcome." Was all Blake said in return before reopening her book.

"And you." Weis said whilst pointing her finger at Ruby's chest. "Do you have any idea how much extra work you have given **me** with all those designs and alloys. When the centurion asked you to provide the velites with that axe, you were supposed to give us one design so they could climb rocks!"

Another poke of the finger now struck Ruby's chest. "Instead you go all overboard and bring us seven designs, seven! On top of it all, there are four alloys! That makes twenty-eight possible variants which are supposed to be tested! Twenty eight!"

"Erh, sorry?!" squeaked Ruby.

"Dolt," muttered Weiss whilst looking past the girl and accepting Blake's book before slapping it down upon Ruby's head.

It was quite obvious to every onlooker that her slap hadn't been intended to hurt though.

"You were supposed to make a few prototypes of a climbing axe." Weiss said whilst slapping Ruby once again upon the head with Blake's book, thereby ignoring said girl who had her hand already outstretched to accept her book back.

"Not…attempt…to...combine...the…climbing...axe...with...the ...pick...axe,...hammer... and...scythe..." Weiss continued whilst accompany every other word with another slap of the book and simultaneously trying to keep Blake from snatching her book back.

"Erh, I'm sorry." Repeated Ruby again whilst keeping her own climbing axe cradled to her chest.

"Dolt." Muttered Weiss once again before making the mistake of looking down.

After that she sighed and muttered: "You're forgiven."

Blake utilised that moment of distraction to snatch her book back.

"What are the odds upon the battle?" Weiss asked Yang whilst trying to keep her eyes away from the younger and very excitable teen next to her. This was a rather hard thing since Ruby had instantly wrapped her arms around the optio whilst whispering incessantly "thank you" upon a very fast tone.

Yang kept her eyes focused upon her little sister whilst seemingly attempting to recall the odds. The way she was smirking though made rather clear she wasn't exactly trying her hardest to distract Weiss from Ruby.

"I'd think it was five to one." She said once she recognised the signs that Ruby was going to release Weiss.

She chuckled again. "You wanna make a bet?"

Weiss huffed in return. "I don't risk money needlessly." In direct disregard of those words she presented Yang with a small leather pouch. "I invest."

"Sure, you don't." Yang replied whilst making such an exaggerated eye roll that someone at the other end of the arena might have noticed it.

"It isn't a bet if you know on forehand who will win." Weiss said defending her choice.

"Unless you know for certain the Praetor will take a dive," Blake replied flatly, not bothering to look up from her book. "It still counts as a bet."

Weiss decided to ignore that last remark which prompted another chuckle of Yang and a small, silent smile of Blake.

* * *

Underneath the floor of the arena, Persephone and Reyna were both doing a final check up on their equipment whilst waiting for the sound of a horn and the accompanying wave of light to flood into the room.

"Are you ready?" Reyna asked Persephone who staring into a mirror whilst brushing her fingers through her hair to check whether she risked having her now rather messy hair bun unravel even further.

Persephone chuckled for a moment whilst turning her head towards Reyna, seemingly having decided that the knot would hold for the time.

"I sure am." She chuckled again.

"Getting cold feet?" Persephone asked her again. The older teen brushed a single finger across Reyna's cheek. "I sure hope you're not going to ask me to take it easy upon you."

The Praetor attempted to ignore the obvious teasing undertone in Persephone's voice and shook her head, then she changed her mind.

"Why? In need for an excuse when you lose?" Reyna asked her whilst mimicking Persephone's earlier action.

"Aah, the sound of a girl who pretends she doesn't know she's about to get her ass kicked." Persephone continued upon the same tone whilst laying herself own upon two adjacent benches and stretching herself out.

Reyna chuckled at that. It was quite obvious that Persephone had been looking forward to this.

Then again, even if she hadn't such "I-am-the-alpha-attitude" as Persephone and Jason, the Praetor had been looking forward to this too.

Reyna played for a moment with her own coin and recalled what she knew of the way the centurion fought then she took a deep breath.

"She's just my sparring-partner and a friend." Reyna told herself. "Green or brown, the colour of her eyes doesn't matter."

At that point she heard the sound of a horn which was quickly followed by the rattling of several chains and the sound of the heavy wooden gate dragging over the stone.

Reyna turned her head in the direction of the gate and therefore missed Persephone who had snuck behind her. She felt an arm wrap itself around her shoulder and when she turned her head, she found herself staring in Persephone's chocolate orbs.

"I am expecting you're going to make me work for this." Persephone reminded her with a wide grin.

Reyna chuckled. "Then I hope you're ready to work like a bitch."

There was no heat in the last word and therefore it prompted another laugh from Persephone, whilst she began leaning upon Reyna to support herself.

"Somehow you bring some of my worse traits out." Reyna muttered which made Persephone laugh all the louder.

* * *

For all her earlier bluster, standing in the arena opposite of Persephone was not something Reyna could do with a level breathing. Even so, no matter what, she was not going to betray any of that.

Instead Reyna projected her customary cold, almost aloof appearance. In contrast to her opponent, Persephone made no attempt to hide some of her excitement. The older teen sported her customary small smile although at times it turned into an obvious grin.

Persephone wasn't nervous though, excited yes, but not nervous, instead she was obviously relishing into the prospect of her challenge.

There was no great, dramatic reveal like Jason might have done, no flourish gesture to reveal her weapon, instead Reyna simply walked to the middle of the arena and without even waiting until she reached the centre Reyna had her coin expand into a relative short, but broad-bladed spear.

Persephone who entered after her, rolled her eyes due to the lack of spectacle but still followed her example, although she did decide to wait to until they reached the centre to reveal her own weapon.

Reyna noticed that once again Persephone began by drawing only a single sword.

For a moment she felt a sharp pang of annoyance due to that, since it gave the impression the girl was underestimating her. This idea did not last long, Reyna quickly recalled that even against Jason she had waited to reveal her second blade until the end of the battle, and even then it wasn't as if Persephone had shown herself slouch with only a single weapon either.

Opposite of Reyna, the Centurion took her stance by drawing her arm back and pointing the tip of her sword at the Praetor's eyes, her remaining arm was kept protectively in front of her as if she was wielding an invisible shield.

Reyna on the other hand was holding her spear with both hands and kept the tip of the weapon pointed at Persephone's chest.

Both began by walking slowly towards each other and for a moment it seemed even as if Persephone would be walking straight into the tip of the spear.

Then she took a few steps to her right which forced Reyna to change the direction of her spear's tip and for several moments that was all that did happen. Persephone stepped forward, backwards or sideways whilst remaining just out of the range of Reyna's weapon whilst the praetor adjusted her hold upon the weapon and at most made a few, rather slow thrusts.

It was hardly a spectacular opening, but almost as if obeying a preceding agreement both seemed content with these shallow, probing attacks for now.

Persephone knew Reyna's nickname as the toughest girl in the camp was only in part originating from her usual cold, harsh and often stand-offish bearing. She didn't doubt that it had been a factor though, however it hadn't been difficult to find out that Reyna and Jason had somehow ended up at the forefront of most battles in which they had participated.

This meant that Reyna's record went far beyond merely sitting behind a desk and wrestling with Octavian in the political arena. Reyna was the kind of girl who had literally carved herself a way to the top. However despite that, Persephone had not so much as a single clue about the way Reyna fought, except for the fact that like Jason she was an expert with the sword and the spear and that she would most likely follow the Roman way of fighting.

Whilst "The Roman way" contained a multitude of variations and even completely different ways to wield your weapon and face your opponent, it gave some clues about what Persephone could expect from her opponent and so far it seemed like Reyna was indeed obeying to the tenants of the Roman way.

This Roman way generally was a rather cautious and calculating way of fighting which depended upon practice and a level head. Generally, the key element of this style was learning to anticipate your opponent's attacks whilst simultaneously letting your opponent weary themselves out against your defence until either by a mistake or weariness he gave you the chance to finish him off with a rapid stab. These were rather simple guidelines but they worked miracles when it involved younger or inexperienced campers whom faced off against the generally stronger, bigger and much more aggressive monsters.

Unfortunately, this also meant that it usually handed over the initiative to their opponents and even more importantly, despite it capitalising upon the flaws and patterns of their opponents, it also made the Romans rather predictable.

Both were dangerous disadvantages against most opponents but against a swordswoman like Persephone, it was the same as setting foot upon the battlefield in chains.

Reyna knew that too, just like Jason had. Therefore she had no intention to obey the Roman Way to the letter.

Instead this first phase of the battle was more like the preliminary skirmishes before the clash rather than the true confrontation. It wasn't victory or defeat which hung in the balance, instead both were trying to manoeuvre around to snatch an advantage, to find the first traces of a flaw in their opponent's stance, to get a hint of the strength and speed with which their opponent could strike and how they themselves matched up.

It wasn't very exciting to watch though, despite their weapons, this first phase was more akin to a game of chess than a traditional physical contest.

Still, both girls knew it couldn't continue like that forever and it was only a matter of time before it escalated into the actual confrontation. However this made it no less important and in Persephone's case this had once allowed a young girl, little more than a child to match and even best the God of war even if it was only for a short while.

Reyna was no less aware of the importance of this phase than Persephone and she waited with no less patience than her opponent for the opportunity to begin the battle in earnest.

And so this first phase continued, Persephone stepped to the right in attempt to make Reyna turn a bit more in the direction of the sun and the other girl reacted with a slow stab of her spear which was slapped aside but which simultaneously allowed Reyna to regain her position in front of Persephone.

Then the Praetor attempted to lure Persephone a few steps forward, guiding the teen to a spot in the sand where the layer of earth was thick and which could hinder Persephone's footwork. Instead Persephone attempted once again to gain a position with the sun at her back, forcing Reyna to take another few steps forward and retake her earlier position opposite of Persephone.

In the end, it was Reyna who opened the real battle with a rapid thrust of her spear. Persephone had moved her upper body a bit too much after attempting to slap the tip of Reyna's weapon away and this was the answer.

Reyna had gained only a fraction of second before Persephone could react properly, it wasn't enough.

The centurion took a step to the right whilst partially turning, protected her body with the manica from her left-arm and reacted with a wide slash which was aimed for Reyna's head.

Reyna took a step backwards to make the sword fall short and immediately discovered she had miscalculated. Still stepping backwards, Reyna lacked the hold over her spear she would usually have and she could only feel the spear being slapped aside by an instant motion from Persephone's left arm. Persephone ignored the small scratch which was torn through the leather and instead aimed another slash towards Reyna's head.

Reyna acted instantly, a quick step backwards to evade the next slash, a step to her right to enlarge the distance between them, another step backwards to make room for a wide slash with the dagger-like tip from her spear. Persephone on the other hand was no less fast and attempted to follow Reyna as closely as she could to limit the effective range of the Praetor's spear. Still these motions gave Reyna the room she needed to utilise her spear with the same efficiently as she had before.

It was an advantage the taller girl pressed home instantly.

Reyna grasped her spear with such force that her fists paled when she slashed her weapon upwards and instantly forced Persephone to take a step backwards.

The next moment Persephone's eyes were instantly draw towards the tip of the spear which made a spiralling motion before it seemed to be swept backwards, as if Reyna prepared to decapitate her with a slash from the small blade.

Instead of that, Reyna launched herself forwards whilst aiming the bronze backspike of her weapon at Persephone's chest. The Centurion made no attempt to raise her falcata, knowing that it was too heavy to deflect the spike of the weapon in time. Instead the daughter of Juno threw herself sideways whilst keeping her head turned towards her opponent, the moment she regained her balance she immediately aimed another cut at Reyna.

However before she could do that, Reyna launched a kick which was aimed at the chest of the still crouched centurion. Persephone caught the attack upon her elbow and then attempted to slam the knuckleduster from her weapon into Reyna's side which made Reyna jump backwards.

Reyna was fast, but she wasn't fast enough to stop the horsehead from scraping against her cuirass.

* * *

For a moment both duellists stared at each other, then Reyna showed Persephone a small smirk upon which said combatant reacted with a soft chuckle.

The next moment both threw themselves once more against one another. Reyna opened with a quick one-handed swipe of her weapon with which she aimed for Persephone's face. The centurion reacted with a wave from her own weapon which slapped the spear away. Instead of trying to resist the force of Persephone's attack, Reyna allowed it to throw her right arm backwards. Her open left-hand however shot out instantly towards Persephone's sword arm.

This forced Persephone to take another step backwards to evade Reyna's attempt to snatch her wrist. Reyna used that moment to prepare for another lunge, but this time Persephone caught the attack with her sword and slammed the palm of her free hand against Reyna's chest. Reyna stumbled backwards and Persephone instantly seized the initiative with another slash of her weapon.

Reyna, being caught back footed, had no other choice than attempt to block the weapon with the staff of her spear and she felt the weapon jolt when the heavy blade bit into the wood for the first time.

A moment later her spear was almost forced aside and Reyna realised that Persephone utilised the Praetor's stationary position to place a kick against the bottom of the weapon.

Knowing that she would stand no chance to defend herself from another attack if she remained where she was, Reyna threw herself backwards whilst moving one hand towards the dagger upon her back. Persephone lunged at her and Reyna held her spear diagonally in an attempt to slow Persephone's weapon down. It succeeded in slowing it just enough down to make the weapon slam harmlessly against the side of her cuirass, a hit which was far too shallow to give Persephone the victory in this duel. Simultaneously however Reyna aimed her dagger at Persephone's side. However instead of the sudden resistance of Persephone's mail, Reyna felt a rather sudden throbbing pain at the side of her arm just below her wrist before said weapon could reach her opponent.

Reyna glared at Persephone who threw her a rather haughty looking grin in return before tipping her head in the direction of Reyna dagger.

Reyna threw a quick glance towards said weapon.

She noticed instantly that Persephone had caught the praetor's arm upon the tip of her elbow.

Persephone chuckled. "You're definitely not accustomed to planting a hidden knife into someone's back, aren't you?" She said with some obvious humour in her voice.

"I can't say I am!" Reyna admitted calmly whist taking a step back. The girl paused for a moment, whilst returning the dagger to the sheath upon her back and unknown to Persephone, she reached for a second golden coin which she had hidden in her back pocket.

"However," Reyna continued, "I am rather good at..." her sword materialised and she threw herself forward whilst aiming a lunge at Persephone before she finished her sentence, "Outwitting my opponent!"

Persephone threw herself sideways to evade the thrust, Reyna instantly attempted to turn the lunge into a rather clumsy slash which Persephone blocked with an instinctive motion of her weapon.

Reyna instantly followed it up with a thrust from her spear which she aimed at Persephone's lower legs, however a quick step to the right made the weapon whistle harmlessly past her limb instead. Persephone replied by slamming her knee against the spear, pushing the weapon even further aside.

Not even a second later Persephone threw her entire weight forward which caught Reyna off guard and for a moment Reyna stood there, her own sword caught by the heavier, forward curve from Persephone's blade which was slowly driving the weapon downwards, whilst the head of her spear remained uselessly buried into the sand.

The next moment Persephone twisted around whilst her spare arm reached for Reyna's left arm. Persephone's leg shot out and the teen stabbed it between Reyna's legs before it caught Reyna's heel and kicked it of the ground.

Reyna only had the chance to feel Persephone's fingers upon her arm before the centurion launched her to the left.

Reyna didn't fell far though and the Praetor had enough practice to break her fall to keep herself from sustaining an actual injury. But with her back against the ground she stood little chance against Persephone.

Persephone took a single step backwards and stabbed her sword momentarily in the sand before motioning Reyna to get up.

The Centurion chuckled. Reyna was good, an expert in the Roman way perhaps, but as it was now she was definitely not following the Roman philosophy of the sword and the spear and that suited Persephone rather well. Furthermore the daughter of Juno was curious to find out what else she was planning.

"No, Reyna." Persephone thought, "It won't be ending so soon. This is too much fun for now."

Meanwhile Reyna was slowly standing up and even wasted a bit of time to knock the worst dust from her cloths, whilst attempting to hide her panting before presenting Persephone with an unperturbed expression.

The little act caused Persephone's smile to broaden for another moment.

"Are you ready?" Persephone asked Reyna, whilst massaging the back of her neck with both hands.

Reyna stabbed the back spike of her spear in the sand and grabbed her sword with her right hand. A moment later her left-hand grabbed the shaft of the spear and she pointed both her weapons at Persephone.

"Good." Persephone continued whilst taking a single step forward.

"Then..." Persephone reached for the hilt of her sword. "We..." Her fingers closed themselves into fist around the handle. "Should..." Persephone pushed one leg backwards. "Continue!" Persephone seemed to shoot forward.

Reyna instantly lunged with her spear in return but Persephone's sword caught it at the tip and pushed it instantly away.

Reyna stepped backwards and aimed a slash of her sword at Persephone's chest but Persephone raised her sword in return and blocked the attack of Reyna's sword before pushing that away as well.

Reyna receded a few more steps, but this time Persephone was not looking for room to wield her sword, instead she twisted her body a bit and slammed the shoulder of her sword arm against Reyna's spear arm. This was instantly followed by Persephone's leg brushing against Reyna's thigh making the praetor instantly jump back, just in time to keep Persephone from hooking her ankle again.

Instantly aware of the failure from this attempt, Persephone pushed further past Reyna before twisting around again and swung another slash at Reyna.

Reyna stepped backwards whilst attempting to turn her body towards Persephone and simultaneously raising her spear to keep the sword from touching her. However whilst she succeeded in keeping Persephone from ending their duel, the older girl swept instantly to her right and Reyna quickly noticed that no matter how fast she turned or to where she stepped, Persephone kept returning to the corner of her own eye.

It was quite obvious that Persephone had noticed that whilst Reyna had some experience with dual wielding weapons, there still remained a rather large discrepancy between her left- and her right-hand.

Reyna desperately resisted the urge to swear whilst Persephone's grin seemed to gain a mocking edge. The spear of the Praetor kept moving around, keeping Persephone from performing the attack which would end the duel but Reyna could easily recognise the pace of battle.

Persephone had caught her in her metaphorical web. All Reyna could do now was desperately trying to keep up with older girl. Another swipe of the sword was stopped by the spear and Reyna attempted to turn her body towards Persephone, so that she could bring her own sword to bear. However instead she was almost instantly forced to throw herself sideways. It was just in time to keep Persephone from kicking her leg from under her again.

Reyna felt a shock going through her left arm and this time, she did swear, just softly enough to keep it from reaching everyone's ears except for hers and Persephone's.

The spike of her spear had gotten stuck in the sand and this in combination with the battering which Persephone's sword had given the weapon had made it break. Persephone stared at the remains of Reyna's spear for a moment and raised a single eyebrow, obviously curious about what Reyna would do in return.

Reyna replied by turning her body properly towards her opponent and, resisting the urge to throw the remains of her weapon at Persephone, instead Reyna simply dropped the piece of wood and imperial gold next to her in the sand.

"Let's finish this, shall we?" Reyna requested from Persephone whilst taking a deep breath.

"So you have wished it, and so it shall be." Persephone said in return whilst pointing her sword at Reyna's eyes.

"Aren't you a nice, little genie?" Reyna whispered quickly in reply, making Persephone's smile a little broader.

Reyna lunged instantly after those words. Something in Persephone's smile had told her that she should not give Persephone a chance to reply after that sentence. Reyna had experienced the full horror of speaking in front of thousands of teenagers before, she knew when she had said something that would make her the butt of jokes.

The edge of Reyna's sword was met by Riptide in return, Reyna turned her blade around in an attempt to whisk it past Persephone's weapon however the greater weight of the falcate from Persephone made it rather easy for Persephone to keep Reyna's blade in its place.

Instead Persephone utilised the blunt backside of her blade by placing the palm of her left hand just behind the tip to push Reyna's weapon away.

Reyna stepped backwards but it was already too late to keep Persephone from slamming her shoulder against the Praetor's chest. This turned Reyna's last step into a stumble and Persephone grasped that opportunity instantly. One step towards the praetor's left flank, another quick slash to connect their weapons and Reyna was too late to pull her hand away from Persephone's grasping fingers.

Persephone gave it a single pull and Reyna resisted, remembering the way Persephone had thrown her down earlier. However Persephone's pull turned into a rapid push which forced Reyna to take a step backwards to recover, in meanwhile Persephone swerved past her.

Reyna turned around as fast she could whilst drawing her sword back for a push however this time it was too late. The heavier falcate swung down and struck the blade with enough force to numb Reyna's fingers. Persephone instantly twisted her sword to free it and drove Reyna back with a quick horizontal slash, then the tip of her sword made a spiralling motion and struck Reyna's blade just above the hilt. Reyna's numbed fingers gave way under the impact and the sword fell upon the sand.

"Like I said." Persephone whispered to Reyna. "Your wish is my command."

She chuckled and placed one hand against Reyna's cheek.

"Don't forget to brush this little genie's lamp three times before you ask for your second wish." Persephone continued whilst brushing her fingers against one of the cheek plate of Reyna's helmet.

Persephone noticed Reyna cheeks reddening even if most of it was hidden underneath her cheek plates and chuckled for another moment before turning around and walking towards the entrance of hall which was opening in the floor of the arena.

Reyna hesitated for a moment and gathered the broken pieces of her spear before following after Persephone. Perhaps if she had walked a bit faster, the Praetor would caught the obvious smile which had been lingering upon the Centurion's lips after that.

* * *

Noticing Persephone had already entered one of the shower cots and hearing the sound of water splattering down, Reyna decided to follow Persephone's example.

When she gave her body a quick look over, the praetor noticed a few welts which were bound to turn dark. However Persephone had taken care not to cause anything beyond those small discomforts.

Reyna shook her head and then sighed, for a few moments she remembered a pair of sea green, angry eyes then she recalled the excited, chocolate brown orbs which had stared at her merely minutes ago.

Reyna sighed again and stared at the cot in which Persephone still stood showering. Reyna shook her head as in an attempt to chase her errant thoughts away before she brushed a single finger across her cheek and decided to get dressed.

When even after that Persephone had failed to leave her cot Reyna decided to seat herself upon a bench and to wait.

It took another ten minutes before Reyna heard Persephone shut the water down. It was not even a minute later when Persephone opened the door.

Reyna blinked for a moment and Persephone did the same when she saw Reyna after the centurion had excited her cot, still wearing a pleased smile, as well her a black pair of trousers and a similar coloured sports bra.

"You're still here?" Persephone asked her, sounding genuinely surprised whilst Reyna instantly removed her gaze from the scarcely dressed teenager.

"So it seems." Replied Reyna, then she showed a small smile. "I was curious whether or not I would have to go searching for another centurion for the Fifth because you set off upon a one-woman siege of Olympus."

"I hadn't expected you to make me wait for so long though." She added, making it sound like an afterthought.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Persephone told her whilst suddenly finding the wall next to Reyna incredibly intriguing.

"I didn't realise you wanted to come with me to find out whether Octavian could tell me something about my mother." Persephone replied rather bashfully. "It's my fault."

It was only a moment later that Persephone realised that Reyna despite what her words might have implied, had never actually said she actually wanted come with her to the Augur.

Perhaps Reyna caught a hint of that bit of doubt as well, because she shot Persephone a smile in return.

"I am not so burdened by friends that I don't stand by their side when they could use my help." She said whilst placing a hand upon Persephone scarred shoulder.

Persephone smiled at that in return, the young woman tilted her head and closed her eyes whilst reaching for Reyna's fingers.

Reyna felt the tips from sleek fingers brush carefully over the back of her own.

"Persephone?" whispered Reyna in the ear of the smaller girl.

Reyna could feel Persephone hesitate for a single second, then those fingers left her own and she felt a pair of still moist, pale arms wrap themselves around her body instead.

Long black, wet hair fell upon her shirt and slowly darkened the colour of the purple there but truthfully Reyna couldn't claim she cared about the last. Instead of that little discomfort her attention was caught by the warmth of feeling Persephone brushing her head against the Praetor's neck.

Reyna did not attempt to resist the daze she felt though.

Both girls stood there for a while, as silent and seemingly unmoveable as a marble statue, but without any of the cold or hardness which such an object would have possessed.

Like so often, it was Reyna who returned first to reality and realised she was hugging her still slightly wet and more importantly only partly dressed friend and centurion.

Still, there was no sudden urge to instantly push the other girl away. Instead, almost as if she had remained caught in her daze, Reyna raised Persephone's head carefully upwards and brushed some of her hair aside before brushing her fingers against Persephone's cheek.

Persephone seemed to obey Reyna's unspoken request by her slowly raising her head and opening her eyes.

"Reyna?" Persephone whispered, somehow turning her name into something which lay midway between a purr and question.

"We should prepare to leave." Reyna whispered whilst slowly removing her arms from around the older girl.

"And you should continue getting dressed." She continued, almost as if it was something she only now realised.

Persephone blinked for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"Yeah..." she whispered sounding rather distracted. "I guess you're right."

"I'll be waiting for you", Reyna whispered before quickly adding, "outside."

Persephone nodded again then she slowly moved her hand to the spot upon her shoulder where Reyna had placed her hand.

The girl moved her arms ups, allowing the towel to fall down and slowly brushed her hand to the centre of her chest.

For a few more moments she stood there like that, then a snort escaped her lips.

"Interesting?" Whispered Persephone, not really knowing how to feel about a certain goddess. "Please, tell me it will be more than something to hurt us both."

* * *

"I must say." Octavian said, throwing Reyna a rather curious look. "I am rather surprised that you're coming to me with a request."

"I am the one with the request, Octavian." Persephone said with a rather harsh tone in her voice.

"Of course you are." Replied the augur upon a tone which made clear he himself only half believed her words. "Still, it is hardly unsurprising that our praetor wants to be there when it involves the patron from her disappeared colleague.

"It is quite obvious that Octavian was not overtly pleased with being disturbed so close to lunch." Persephone thought whilst attempting to show the seer as little emotion as possible. "His remarks have a straightforwardness which I am not accustomed from him."

Still, the remark bit a lot deeper than it should have. Persephone hadn't forgotten about Jason and she knew Reyna hadn't either.

"Still," Octavian continued. "I suppose I can't refuse such a request."

The skinny teen made a great show of his reluctance before drawing his dagger.

"Are you certain?" He asked Reyna. "I hear most of the Gods tend to react rather badly when they get the impression you're spying on them."

"I'll take full responsibility!" muttered an obviously frustrated Persephone.

"So be it." replied Octavian instantly before stabbing his dagger deep into the stomach of a teddy and dragged it downwards with a tearing sound.

Persephone couldn't help but gaze at the "spectacle" with the same attention as with which she probably would stare at a car crash.

She wasn't really certain what she felt more at the view: ridicule for attempting to read the future in broken toys or revulsion for the fact something that would usually comfort a child was now being mutilated.

"At least, he isn't slaughtering living animals." She thought. Still Persephone couldn't help but take a step backwards.

Octavian in the meanwhile had stabbed his fingers in the open belly of the bear and had started to pull some of the stuffing out of its belly.

For a moment the blonde stared at white strands which littered the stone altar and his hands, then the boy showed a notable frown.

"What in the?" Muttered Octavian with some surprise in his voice.

Persephone cocked her head and threw a worried glance at Reyna who seemed no less uncomfortable than the centurion.

Octavian ignored the two for a moment and ran to one of the pillars behind him. The centurion of the first cohort had most likely used this pillar to hide some pile of stuffed animals from the view from his visitors, because he instantly reappeared with another toy animal in his hand.

The boy placed the toy down upon the altar and then thrust his knife again into the belly of the plush animal.

Octavian stared once again down upon the contents of the slaughtered toy with a notable frown.

"What made you come to the temple?" Octavian asked whilst aiming his gaze at Persephone.

Unknown to said centurion, his voice suddenly seemed far more aggressive than whenever Reyna had ever heard speak him before.

"I was worried about my Mother." Persephone bit back.

Octavian stared at her for another second, then the teenager ran back to pillar and this time the Augur returned carrying an entire kinder garden's worth of plush animals in his arms.

He dropped most of these next to the altar and placed the first upon the stone slab.

"What do you know specifically?" Octavian asked her, before grasping his knife again. "What made you run to the temple with the Praetor?"

Both girls exchanged a look, than Persephone spoke up. "Mother ignored my offering." Persephone said.

Octavian nodded. "Anything else?" He asked her which made Persephone shake her head in return.

"Wait here," muttered Octavian, obviously forgetting his rank for the moment, but both decided to ignore that for now.

The augur instantly got to work with an almost obsessive fervour, which caused Persephone and Reyna to admire every part of the temple they could see from their spot, apart from the altar where Octavian was slaughtering toys with a practiced fluidity.

"And?" Persephone asked him eventually, making a supreme effort to ignore the carpet of plush which had been spread around the altar.

"I don't understand a thing?" Muttered the exhausted looking augur. "I've been asking the questions upon every way I could, tried to find out what happened before the Goddess disappeared."

Octavian shook his head. "All I find is either nothing or partial answers with massive holes in."

"I have never seen something like this before." Octavian said. "Either your mother did her best to erase all possible traces of what she was doing before she disappeared."

He paused for a moment. "Or," he continued.

"Someone else did." Persephone growled.

Octavion nodded.

"How is that different from Jason?" Reyna asked him curiously.

Octavian stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Jason disappeared completely, as if he suddenly disappeared in thin air. Lady Juno seemed to disappear and reappear at an almost random basis."

Octavian scratched the side of his head. "If I didn't know better, which I don't, I'd say she was searching for something or someone. There is a pattern but there are too many holes to find it."

"Are you telling me that my mother is actually gone, disappeared and you have no idea where or why?" Persephone whispered with a quiet menace in her voice.

Octavian raised his hands in surrender, clearly recognising the signs of someone who was looking for a target to get rid of some aggression.

As much as Reyna would have liked the sight of Persephone taking her anger out upon the bringer of the bad news, Reyna knew better then letting Persephone take her rage out upon Octavian.

So did Persephone, she was breathing heavily and had clenched her fists to the point of palling but she hadn't assaulted the Augur.

Still Reyna could tell the centurion was desperately looking for an outlet for said anger and Reyna couldn't help it but she was feeling rather relieved for having fought her spar with Persephone before their visit to the temple and not after.

"We'll need the Sybilline books if we want to have a chance to find out what happened to Lady Juno." Muttered Octavian whilst throwing a wary glance at Persephone.

"But we don't have those." Replied Reyna with an angry glare at the Centurion of the First Cohort whilst resting a single hand upon Persephone's shoulder.

"Perhaps if we had..."Octavian began upon a tone which Reyna had learned to despise, before both noticed Persephone instantly turning her head towards the Pillar which had hidden the stuffed animals.

A moment later the teenager raced towards the pillar with her sword drawn.

Reyna had no idea what it was that prompted this, but the Praetor instantly reached for the coin at the back of her pants whilst Octavian pointed his knife towards the pillar.

"What is it?" Asked Reyna once she had reached Persephone and she failed to notice a threat.

"I thought I saw something." Persephone muttered before sinking upon one knee in front of the last stuffed animal.

"What?" asked a still mystified Reyna whilst she kept glancing around her.

"Green smoke." Muttered the teen sounding no less mystified and far from pleased.

"What?"

"How many toys were left, Octavian?" Persephone asked the Augur who had remained at the altar.

"I don't know." Octavian replied confused whilst scratching his head. "Ten, twelve, for all I now even more because they rolled somewhere behind the pillar."

Reyna blinked for a moment and prodded the sole surviving animal in front Persephone with her sword.

"There is only one remaining." Muttered Reyna whilst staring at said animal, a pure white pigeon with the picture of a bleeding hearth upon its chest.

"What?"

"I said there was only one remaining, Octavian!" Reyna repeated in return whilst eying the stuffed pigeon warily.

Persephone on the other hand scooped the stuffed toy up in one hand and launched it at Octavian who instantly caught it.

"Check it!" Ordered Persephone with an angry voice.

"For what?" Asked Octavian with some obvious confusion.

Persephone sighed. "Just cut it open, do whatever it is that you usually do and see what it says." She said sounding tired.

Octavian stared at the toy for a moment and then shrugged deciding that it wasn't worth arguing over.

Both remaining teens looked away when the Augur raised his knife for the last time and tore the toy to shreds. Octavian instantly buried his hands into the white fluff which busted from the animal's stomach and this time he actually seemed to read something.

"It's a prophecy." He whispered, obviously surprised.

"Then what does it say?" Reyna asked him impatiently.

"I am not certain about the wording," Octavian began and promptly witnessed Reyna and Persephone taking a sudden and obviously exaggerated interest in their swords.

"But it speaks about a dark winged messenger who will appear tomorrow to lead the daughter to the traitor." Octavian continued hastily.

"That's an awfully specific timing." Muttered Reyna.

"And furthermore as vague as possible." Continued Persephone.

Octavian stared at the two for a moment and walked towards the exit. "As much as I'd like to stay here, it is lunchtime so I am going rejoin my cohort." He said before leaving.

Both girls stared at him for a moment.

"Do you think he's leaving us because he wants to get dinner or because he's gonna try making certain that this prophecy won't affect his plans." Reyna asked Persephone dryly.

Persephone stared at the Praetor for a moment, than both girls chuckled.

"What do you think?" Persephone asked Reyna.

"The traitor-part worries me." Reyna admitted. "Especially since it was never specified what treason was committed."

As much as Persephone wanted to protest and remind Reyna that, considering the reason of their arrival, it was rather likely to be related to Juno's disappearance, she knew Reyna was right. It might be implied to be related to Juno's disappearance, but prophecies tended to be notoriously misleading.

"Then there is the daughter part," muttered Reyna, "it is not as if it doesn't limits the number of candidates to less than half the camp."

Persephone sighed then she remembered the first part of the prophecy. She could easily recall several dark winged beings, but there was only one of these which she wanted to see again.

"It is rather terrifying, don't you think?" Reyna asked her.

Persephone nodded, perfectly understanding what Reyna meant. The one being that would have sprung first to the mind of the Praetor was a God and his presence was far from wanted by anyone in there, Mors.

"Any chance that the prophecy simply announced the arrival of a dark messenger-eagle with the name of the idiot who had us borrow money from the Triumvirate?" Reyna asked Persephone.

Persephone gave her a hollow smile in return which scarcely a moment later seemed to lose the last remains of its warmth.

"Reyna," Persephone whispered whilst searching for support against the nearby wall. "Remind me about the patrols tomorrow?"

"They'll be done by the Fourth and ..." and Reyna paused for a moment when she recalled her request from yesterday, before continuing. "The Fifth under your command."

Persephone nodded before sliding down with her back against the wall until she sat down.

"Yeah," Persephone whispered. "Fuck."

Reyna stood there awkwardly for a few moment, then she sank upon one knee and placed one hand upon Persephone shoulder. For a moment the daughter of Juno sat there like just like that.

Then she looked up and Reyna could see a glimpse of vulnerability she had witnessed this morning.

She reacted in the same as she did then, the Praetor wrapped her arms around the other officer and held on.

There was no attempt of Persephone to get out of her command, nor was there an attempt have her unit taking out the rotation again, both knew better then believing that such cheap flight would have escaped that prophecy anyway.

* * *

"Get out!" Yelled Jason with a loud voice before wrapping his arms around Piper and throwing them both out of the chariot.

Leo had only a moment to stare at his two friends before he felt a last shudder go through the chariot and felt as if something massive had hit his chest. The second thing he felt was the cold which spread through his body.

Then he was dead... or at least he supposed he was. There was no way in Hell... Hades... Tartarus... whatever place Greek Demigods went to if they accidently took the turn downwards instead of up, that he hadn't somehow taken the turn upwards.

Several female faces had appeared, each of them beautiful with a kind smile and long dark hair.

Leo felt them grasp him by his shoulders and he noticed they had bright yellow eyes.

A moment later it seemed if he was pushed even further upwards.

His confusion ended when his head burst through the surface of the water and he had his first intake of air.

And suddenly the calm, relaxed feeling was gone and he realised he was shivering, clinging to the remains of a large tree trunk in the middle of a lake and in pain due to his belly flopping.

At least thirty feet away from him, at the shore of the pool, the son of Iris was slowly climbing out of the water whilst next to several from the pegasi riders dismounted.

"Uhm, little help here?" Leo yelled towards.

One of the pegasiriders, pointed his sword at something high, which had to be behind him and Leo turned his head around in return, hoping that the boy wouldn't suddenly yell. "Haha, you looked."

Instead he saw Jason there, he was walking a little over a foot above the water with one arm wrapped around Piper's waist and another around her back whilst the girl was likewise clinging to her boyfriend.

"Let me guess." Muttered Leo, "you would love to help me but you currently have your hands full."

He threw a look downward, to the bottom of the pool and shook his head. "There were at least five of them, I really should have picked drowning."

Jason sighed and threw a quick glance at Piper who simply nodded in return.

The Son of the Sky God carefully removed one hand from around Piper and bended downwards towards Leo whilst extending his hand.

Once Leo had grasped the blonde's hand, Jason began walking towards the shore, dragging Leo with him.

"So, what made you save your girlfriend instead your best friend?" Leo asked conversationally as if he wasn't being dragged to the shore of a pool which was filled with attractive girls by his friend who was literally walking on air.

Jason stared at the Latino-elf in return.

"She's lighter and a lot prettier than you are." He whispered with a small smile.

Piper giggled softly after his remark. "I think he still hasn't forgiven you for that dessert- and chores-joke."

Leo chuckled at that.

At the shore, Leo noticed that a large number of demigods had started gathering there, some of them even brought towels with them.

* * *

"These were the ones you found?" Asked Sherman once the newcomers and their rescuers approached the newly lit campfire.

Chris nodded at that question. The boy was obviously tired, but so far he had not shown any hard feelings about that. "There wasn't anyone else?" Sherman continued to ask.

"There were several anemoi theullai." Chris said in return. "We struck as soon as we could but we were to late save Hedge."

"They killed The Old Bat?" Sherman asked his sister's boyfriend with a voice which was thick with disbelief and fury.

Chris sank down upon a chair. "From what I hear the aenmoi kidnapped him." He muttered.

Leo, Jason and Piper stared at each other for a moment.

"Hedge or "The Old Bat" as they frequently called him was rather popular with the children of Ares, all the more since it seems he had a gift for picking out the fighters." Annabeth told them.

Then the girl shook her head. "Hades, Clarisse will have a fit if she discovers they've gotten the old satyr."

"You mentioned this girl Clarisse before, as well as a Persephone what happened to them that made them disappear?" Jason asked them, only now removing his arms from around Piper.

He couldn't help but lean a bit forward in his eagerness to learn more. Something which wasn't missed by Annabeth.

"You've seen her, when?" She asked instantly, simultaneously attracting the attention of every demigod around them.

Jason shook his head in reply. "It is not that simple." He replied.

"And why is that?" Annabeth with narrowed eyes and Jason could feel her eyes weren't the only ones which had suddenly become a lot colder.

"Jason has no memory beyond the most recent weeks." Piper intervened whilst instinctively stepping in front of her boyfriend. "Leo and I have been trying to jug his memories for the past weeks and we barely got a thing.

Annabeth stared at the two with narrowed eyed, obviously searching for a lie.

"She isn't lying." Leo said whilst looking rather uneasy beneath the gaze of the large number of armed demigods.

Eventually Annabeth sighed. "You're not lying." She relented "and we have some means which could help jug your memory."

"Ehm, thank you." whispered Jason whilst he wondered how unpleasant those means would be.

Annabeth seemed to catch that thought and gave him a rather encouraging smile. "There won't be anything more unpleasant than a bad taste at worst." She said.

"But back to Persephone, even if you lack your memory, what did you," Annabeth hesitated for a moment, "remember...feel by her name."

Jason hesitated for a moment. "It is not so much a memory or a feeling as a certainty, I know the name, just like I knew my coin would turn into a sword the moment I found it in my bag."

"But you haven't heard the name Clarisse?" Chris asked him.

"I can't claim for certain, but I would guess not." Jason confirmed.

Chris sighed in return.

"Still, I suggest you three take a look at these photo, see whether you might have met or not." The boy muttered whilst handing them a photograph.

The picture contained four people of which one was Annabeth and the second was a huge, dark skinned eighteen years old with a rather noticeable scowl who was leaning upon a massive hammer.

The remaining two girls had to be Persephone and Clarisse. Neither of the three teens recognised the tall, muscular looking girl who, at time when the picture was taken, had a spear pointed at the camera. Jason on the other hand kept staring at the remaining girl.

"Jason?" Piper asked him.

Jason shook his head. "I don't know." Whispered the boy. "Is that how she usually looks?" He asked eventually.

Annabeth threw a quick look at the picture. "She usually preferred to wear lighter armour but apart from that, I'd say yes."

Jason sighed. "It is weird, I can't say for certain, it is almost as if something is wrong with the picture."

Annabeth frowned for a moment, obviously mystified by Jason's choice of words. "Perhaps you can tell us more once your memory is returned." She said eventually.

"Yeah," Muttered Jason in reply. "if my memory comes back.

The boy shook his head and extended an arm to offer Chris the picture back.

The boy accepted his picture back and then blinked.

"Jason?" He whispered in disbelief. "Is that burned into your arm?"

Jason threw a quick glance at his lower arm before nodding.

"It is." He replied.

"That's barbaric." Muttered a voice from behind them, making Jason throw a angry glare in return.

"None of you has something like that?" Asked Piper.

I am afraid not." Annabeth said whilst a few campers exposed their own arm to the three newcomers to emphasise the daughter of Athena's point.

"I have seen that symbol before." muttered Chris.

"Yeah, in a schoolbook, I know." Annabeth said whilst staring at Jason with narrowed eyes.

Most campers were staring at them curiously, whilst Piper and Leo waited with halted breath.

Both teenagers realised that Annabeth and Chris were currently deciding Jason's fate.

"I don't think we know enough about this." Chris said whilst looking at Annabeth.

The other teenager stared at Jason's lower arm for another second before nodding.

"You're right." She admitted. "We'll take him to the Big House."

Annabeth sighed for a moment. "We'll need Chiron's help for this."

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Whispered Jason with a quick look at the centaur before pointing his attention (and his sword) back at Seymour, the leopard's head.

"I..." Chiron stammered. "I have no idea."

More and more of the green mist kept pouring out of the mouth of the leopard.

Jason saw the green mist sink down to the bottom of the room which instinctively reminded him of a poisonous gas.

Then the mist began to swirl and rather than spreading out over the floor, part of the mist began to rise again until he recognised a humanoid shape.

"Lower your weapon, Jason." Said a female but exhausted sounding voice.

There was a sound as if she took a deep breath after getting strangled and the figure seemed to gain some solidity.

"Chiron." Muttered the same voice. "Good, it seems... it worked."

"What worked?" Whispered an aghast Chiron. "You wanted him here?"

"I have no time to explain everything now." growled the voice, which made the centaur instinctively take a step backwards.

She turned her head towards Jason and the boy now started to notice the figure seemed to become clearer, more detailed.

"Who are you?" whispered Jason.

Another deep intake of breath. "I am your patron." Replied the voice. "You know me as Juno or Hera, the Queen of the Gods."

"I can't recall you." Jason said in return. "I can't recall anything."

"I know that." Whispered Juno whilst stretching her hand out towards the boy.

Jason felt something warm underneath his chin and despite knowing she couldn't actually touch him, the boy raised his head a bit further.

Juno smiled softly at the boy, then she lowered her own gaze.

"It was the only way you could have survived." She whispered.

"You took my memories?" Jason accused her whilst stepping backwards, outside of her reach.

"Yes and now I need you to save me from my prison." She said.

"I am dying Jason." Juno whispered. "Four days, that's all I have left."

A shudder seemed to shoot through Juno's figure and the Goddess reached for her heart.

"A heart attack." Was the first thought which shot through Jason's head, before he dismissed that possibility again.

"I tried to find out what they were doing and maybe stop them before anything could happen." Juno continued. "I failed and now Porphyrion will kill me once he awakes at last."

"I need your help, Jason." She repeated. "I did not want this to happen but if you fail, I will fade and you will have to face them whilst divided."

"What?" whispered Jason, but he had no opportunity to ask her about what she meant or why it was that she took his memories. It had taken Juno the better part of a minute to become more or less recognisable, it took less than a second for her figure to crumble away into nothing.

* * *

Many miles away, in the Wolf house, Juno slowly raised her head back up.

"So this is how it feels to be vulnerable," Groaned the goddess with a mixture of surprise and fear. "and the mortals feel like that all the time?"

The goddess shuddered. "It is...humbling, to realise how brave they must be to live like this every single day."

Juno sighed before straightening her back again.

"Four days, that's all until my death or liberation." She whispered.

Then she fixed her eyes upon her hand and a moment later, the deep cut which she had made there earlier continued to bleed.

"Fates give I am strong enough to make this work." Juno whispered before she started to write upon the wall with her own ichor.

* * *

 ** _For those who wonder about it, both Black Caesar and Israel Hands were actual pirates who served Blackbeard and survived the man's death at the hands of Lieutenant Maynard of the Royal Navy._**

* * *

 ** _Would you mind letting me know what you thought about it in a review?_**


	11. Chapter 11

**First and foremost a triple warning. I have uploaded chapter 10 at 5/6/2017, however at the time Fanfiction suffered from some issues and was therefore unable to send a notification. Those of you who were unaware of that might want to return to the previous chapter before starting to read these chapters.**

 **Secondly, there is no mistake made. I did indeed upload two chapters from Daughter of Juno. I am not going to make this a habit though, this is mostly because I had originally intended these two chapters to form only a single chapter. Yeah, I admit I misjudged the seize this part of the story would get.**

 **Lastly each of these three chapters counts over 18 000 words, so be warned you'll need several hours if you're going to read them in succession.**

 **Furthermore some of you have asked me when I upload another chapter from Bound by Blood, (with good reason, the third chapter has been dragging it's feet for way to long). At several times I have told these people I was working on it and occasional I even suggested that I was planning to release it relative soon. Whilst each of these replies was meant as a honest one, thus far I have failed to uphold these. This is because the story thus far has been literally haunted by bad luck. The worst of this was my caraccident (which might or might not be linked to a certain deity who is generally associated with equine animals and massive amounts of salt water) and the writers block which was followed by it. However unfortunately, whilst certainly the most serious of the problems it was not the only. For some reason whenever I open the doc with the story, smaller problems keep cropping up to the point that they're driving me paranoid. Is anyone aware of some kind of vampire-deity who might desire appeasement before He/ she allows the writing of fanfiction which involve his/her species? (if there is, I might be willing to offer said deity a minor role as bribe/reward in exchange for stopping the sabotage.)**

 **Sincerely though if the power disappears three times upon a single day and every time just after I open that document I reserve the right to become suspicious (and bloody annoyed).**

 **Finally. I'll admit I own my beta, Lord Protector Corvo Attano, some mentioning for his tireless efforts in previewing and checking for grammatical and otherwise errors. Sincerely though, thank you.**

 **What I do not own is the Percy Jackson-series and all related works. So unless I missed Rick Riordan announcing the shift in ownership, I still don't own a thing.**

* * *

Persephone sighed before raising her head from the tree trunk against which she had been leaning.

Hearing her fellow officer exhale, Drew looked up as well.

Unlike the centurion of the Fifth who had spent the past hours with patrolling, walking up and down the hills and occasionally looking bored, Drew had taken a less active approach to their duty as guardian of the medics.

It wasn't as if Drew had failed to do her duty though, but guarding the camp of the medics was easily the safest job you could have outside of the valley of Camp Jupiter.

And so once she had made certain there were no threats near their position, Drew had seated herself up the ground in preparation for a day of boredom.

Despite her own discomfort over the teen's dismissal of the latest prophecy, Persephone was rather unwilling to blame the daughter of Venus.

Whether they liked it or not, guarding the camp of the medics was considered to be a safe and more importantly an almost inglorious position. It was more akin to a punishment or at the very least a warning to the centurion and the unit who were posted that their behaviour needed to improve.

The fact that Drew had been willing to take command at Persephone's request rather than having required a direct order from Reyna was an indication of the friendship between the daughters of Venus and Juno.

Still, it had been equally clear that Drew believed her presence was unnecessary and who could blame her?

Camp Jupiter had been established in the seventeenth century disguised as one of the many expeditions which had been undertaken by the European powers. Originally it had been little more than one of the rather numerous outposts of the Roman Demigods, not even the most important one in what eventually would become the United states of America. However it was the isolated position towards the European powers and therefore the Greeks and monsters which allowed them to thrive whilst other camps would fall or end up strangled in the many wars and skirmishes which soon would ravage the continent.

At the start, the original Roman colonists had begun with fortifying their position and after that they had started to adapt the land surrounding the Camp as well. By the time the American Civil War had erupted, the entire area had been turned into a massive trap which had withstood every threat since its creation.

It wasn't the Roman way to hide behind walls though, instead the Legion tended to face its enemies outside of the Camp. There had been a few areas around the Camp which had been specifically created for this purpose. These were battlegrounds of which the largest were designed to give up to two thousand legionaries ample room to manoeuvre whilst every opponent who came up against them there would be forced to face their latest dilemma. Either they tried to use massive numbers and attempted to smash through the less numerous Roman formations which would be far more nimble than the unwieldy mass which would oppose them or they could attempt to outmanoeuvre one of the most fearsome militaries to ever walk the earth in the defence of their home upon their own chosen ground which would have been prepared in advance.

With these advantages it came as no surprise that thus far the Roman Camp had remained bereft of a serious siege.

However apart from two battles which both had taken place during the Titan War the Camp had not been forced to endure a direct threat for over a half a century.

The true war which was fought around the camp was far more small scale. But again the Romans had prepared themselves well for these. There were numerous ditches and trenches all over the area, some of these were natural whereas other had been dug by at least one of the numerous generations of legionaries. There were areas were the forest had been thinned out to provide marksmen with easy target practice whenever invaders dared to enter their sight. Contrary to this goal other parts of the hills had been filled with trees and smaller but sharp thorned shrubbery which would make every attempt to travel through a slow, loud and painful journey, this had been done to funnel invaders in the earlier mentioned killing fields.

Furthermore there were small fortified positions from which small groups of defenders could hope to stop or at least attempt to slow any invading force down and even traps which would whittle away the enemy numbers.

The truth was that perhaps until a century ago Persephone would have considered the Camp therefore an invincible fortress. Even without allies or auxiliaries, a full legion would easily be capable of turning an enemy approach into a long and bloody process before these invaders even could hope to lay their eyes upon the (by that point constructed) defences of Camp Jupiter.

A century ago was key though. The expanse of Berkley and the construction of more roads had limited the area which they could hope to hide from mortal eyes. Even the Mist could only do so much.

As a result, monsters could come far closer than a hundred years ago would have been the case. And outside of this now rather thin ring around the camp, there were no other defences worth mentioning.

There was only one positive to this evolution. These roads and more specifically the highway had made it fairly easy to predict were the monsters would strike and therefore it was easy to prepare for when they did.

This had resulted in these hills becoming the silent witnesses of many brutal and bitter battles between small groups of legionaries and their opponents. It were not the kind of chess piece battles which the Roman were famous for, instead these battles were mostly fought by their velites, the occasional horseman and small handpicked units from the heavier armoured infantry whilst the majority of these last stood a short distance away from the battle ready to offer security whenever things went sour.

All of this meant that it was very unlikely for the Fifth or the "unfortunate" members of the Fourth to do so much as catch a glimpse of a claw, scaled leg or anything monster-related, unless something very unexpected happened.

In Persephone's experience unexpected was often synonymous with disastrous; however, simultaneously Persephone had learned that patterns were bound to break eventually. And it was hard not to recognise the pattern in the latest attacks.

Due to the prophecy, it was hard not to believe that today would be the day when that pattern would be broken. Reyna hadn't hidden the augury from the responsible centurions and Persephone doubted there would be so much as a single guard who would actually be found asleep upon his post until tomorrow. Still supposedly, if something would happen it would almost certainly take place between the skirmishers.

Therefore it was hardly surprising that very few of their legionaries looked as if they were expecting trouble.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Asked the daughter of Venus whilst she removed a bit of dirt from underneath her fingernails.

Persephone rolled her eyes in return. "That it should have been obvious." She muttered with a tired sounding voice.

A few feet away from her Drew was looking as if Persephone had just committed sacrilege and this time the daughter of Juno did chuckle.

Persephone had quickly discovered she rather liked riling the daughter of Venus up, not to unlike how the friendship between her and Silena had used to be, although it was far more entertaining to do the riling up herself rather than suffering it.

Drew simply huffed and reached for her backpack, Persephone audibly groaned when Drew brought a lipstick and a mirror out.

In truth, Persephone was far less annoyed by the action than she seemed to be. Drew might be vain but she hadn't pushed the vice to such lengths that it actually seemed to control her thoughts. Apart from that, it would seem rather hypocritical since they both did belong to a race which went to battle wearing brightly polished armour which often was inlaid with patterns of gold, bronze or silver whilst they stuck plumes, horsehair crests and feathers upon their helmets.

It also helped that Drew's putting make-up on or painting her fingernails did not seem to be an act caused by nervousness. On top of all that, Persephone at least half-suspected that she was doing as much because the daughter of Venus believed it was annoying her.

If Persephone had suspected it was merely a poor attempt to hide her nervousness, she would have actually been annoyed, but since it wasn't she saw no reason to actually intervene.

She could deal with vanity or someone trying to ruffle her feathers a little, after all it wasn't as if they hadn't already set up some precautions in case of something unexpected happening.

Persephone waited until Drew had placed her lipstick against her lips before she asked her question.

"So then, what did you actually think?" Persephone asked her, putting a specific emphasis upon the 'you'.

Drew gave her an annoyed expression whilst screwing the tip of her lipstick back down again, not even pretending to be fooled by the timing of Persephone's question.

However whatever she would have said in return would remain a mystery because she heard a sudden commotion to their right.

Both centurions turned their head immediately to the cause of the noise and swore, a soft almost hissed curse from Drew and a much louder growl from Persephone.

Three legionaries had appeared from the forested hills, members of the pickets which Persephone had posted earlier and two of them were obviously bleeding and limping.

With her sword in hand Persephone charged towards them, yelling to the velites to form a skirmish line whilst Drew ran back towards the heavy infantry and told them to form a hollow square around the medics and the few already present wounded legionaries before the daughter of Venus turned to face the edge of the forest as well.

Persephone was the first to reach the three demigods and it took her little more then a second to get past them and position herself defensibly in front of them.

"What happened?" She snarled whilst she eyed the forest warily.

"An accident, Bryce accidently triggered one of the traps." Replied Winchester, who happened to be one of the bleeding legionaries.

"Traps?" Persephone asked him in return, obviously remembering that there were no traps in the direct area of their picket.

"We discovered some tracks before Bryce claimed he had seen something so we went to check that out." Wichester replied obviously channelling his former position as the centurion of the Fifth. It was equally clear to Persephone that whatever it was that Bryce had seen, it had drawn them far from their original post.

For a moment Persephone was inclined to tell them exactly what she believed to be the contents of their skulls for allowing themselves to be drawn so far from their post, then seeing the fear in Winchester's eyes she decided to leave it for the moment.

She disliked Winchester and with good reason too considering his own tenure as a centurion, but it was equally obvious that Winchester had believed himself damned the moment Bryce had seen whatever it was he had claimed to see. If he went to check it out, Persephone would most likely chew him out for abandoning his post, if he did not Persephone would most likely chew him out for not checking it out.

Persephone sighed, she was severely annoyed with them, if they had seen something notable enough to move at least a thousand foot from their post, they should have send a warning to her or at least to one of the nearby picket posts. They were supposed to be the eyes of nearly a hundred demigods and if they went to check something out and happened to get killed, this would leave the remaining demigods exposed to whatever danger which had killed them.

Still, she was aware that at some point yelling became counterproductive and as far as it seemed to be the case with Winchester and his gang, this point had been reached. Furthermore there was at least some sympathy for their dilemma.

She sighed and pointed her sword at the medics.

"Get those wounds seen to." Persephone ordered him before fixing her gaze at Russel, the only unwounded member of the three, who was still supporting the other two.

The velite was obviously uncomfortable under her gaze but did not look away.

"You will take me to Bryce and Dove, whatever it was that was important enough to warrant him dragging you guys from your post will better be good though."

She pointed her sword at another three legionaries and a pair of velites. "You five will take their post." Persephone ordered them.

She heard a several sighs but none showed so much as a sign of disobeying her.

Then the daughter of Juno turned her gaze towards Drew who had arrived after waiting with the legionaries upon a threat which had failed to appear.

"I'll go check out whatever it was that they saw." Persephone told her. "You keep an eye upon the brats?"

Drew chuckled after the last remark and nodded. "Be careful though," she said whilst throwing a look behind her at the limping Winchester, "those traps seem rather nasty."

Persephone nodded and threw her a small smile in return.

* * *

It did not take them long to arrive at the post which the five had abandoned earlier.

However, it did surprise her to see in which direction Russel took off.

She had expected him to disappear in the direction of one of the zones where the thick inner-forest bordered to one of the cleared sections of the woods. Instead he went straight towards an area where the ground was rife with crevices and trenches and the forest seemed to have gone without a clear-up for a long time. That was the kind of terrain which was a wet dream for everyone who hoped to set up an ambush.

The centurion slowed down for a moment and reached for the small loop which she had added to her belt. Before leaving the camp, Persephone had doled out the climbing axes which had been forged by Ruby. She had doubted they would be necessary at the time, but it wasn't as if they couldn't start the testing a bit early.

Furthermore Persephone had learned the hard way to keep a certain variety of materials at her disposal. Sincerely, it had a reason she had ordered Ruby to make the axes out of Stygian iron rather than mere iron or steel: Lycans were immune to all materials except for silver (and possibly fire and stygian iron), storm spirits were immune to celestial bronze, some creatures of the underworld couldn't be touched except by stygian iron, so despite not being one of the velites for whom she had intended the tools, Persephone had grabbed one of the axes for herself as well. Noticing the steepness of some of the hills she felt the sudden urge to pad herself upon the back.

Instead of doing that though, she reached for the leather wrapped hilt of her axe and followed Russel further downwards. The axe proved it usefulness several times by snatching the trunk of a tree or scraping over the occasional large rock which saved Persephone from falling whenever she stumbled and even more when the time to climb a steep slope came and it spared them the need of making a massive detour.

When they arrived at the spot, it was instantly obvious that something was wrong though.

Persephone could still see the remains of the trap which had wounded her legionaries. It was a rather primitive looking spear-trap, a large but flexible branch which had several speartips connected to it and which had been pulled back. When Bryce had stepped upon the rope which had kept the limb in check, the branch shot forward with enough strength to slam a grown man against the ground. The consequences of the now red tipped spear blades would be far more severe than the impact from the wood though.

What she also saw was the third legionary who lay there upon the ground whilst seeming to clutch his bloodied left leg in pain.

"Dove?" whispered Russel before racing towards his whimpering comrade.

"Stand back, you fool!" Persephone yelled whilst drawing Riptide, instantly recognising an ambush.

However nothing struck Russel when he jumped from the cover of the trees, neither did anything appear from the shadows whilst he crossed the distance between the two legionaries. There was not even an attack when Russel reached his comrade and found out that Doves arms had been bound to his bloodied leg and his mouth taped shut.

After all the ambush had never been meant for him.

Persephone would never have known whoever it was who had launched the pilum from behind her if it hadn't been for Dove.

Despite his whimpering, the boy had barely ever looked at his comrade who had been racing towards him, instead his eyes had been aimed at a point behind the two newcomers. Russel might have been too green to recognise the warning, Persephone had set up to many ambushes herself to fail to do so.

Still, it was a close shave, the daughter of Juno realised when she found herself upon her side after having thrown herself down. The javelin had struck the hard wood of a tree with enough force to bend the soft metal of the shaft beneath the tip before falling down.

A load roar erupted from behind her and a broad figure charged from the trees.

Still holding her climbing axe in one hand, Persephone pulled said arm backwards and then launched the tool with as much strength as possible at her assailant.

The weapon struck the centre of his shield after which it fell upon the ground, leaving no more than a thin scratch upon the surface of the scutum.

However, it was enough to slow her opponent down for a moment and to make him instinctively raise his shield to protect his face.

Whereas otherwise Persephone would have been easily slammed aside due to the impact of the shield and it's even bigger owner, now the centurion could take the opportunity to sweep past her assailant instead.

Persephone turned around again, looking for another opponent but nobody came forward.

So instead she turned her eyes back towards her earlier assailant.

"Lawrence!" She whispered angrily at the legionary who stood in front of her.

There were several emotions which swept through Persephone at that moment. Rage was the first and foremost of them, then there was surprise and disbelief, as well as disappointment. But more than those last three there was pain.

If there was one legionary in the Fifth she had disliked, even for whom she might have dared to use the word loathed, it would have been Bryce Lawrence. The boy, she had refused to call him a man, had been a bully from the worst kind and at the very least a borderline psychopath to boot. Still, he had been a member of the Fifth and she had tried to turn him into a proper legionary.

To have that thrown back into her face...did hurt.

It seemed almost a familiar situation and she couldn't help but wonder for a moment if there was something which she could have done to keep this from happening, whether she had failed him somehow.

Then she dismissed that thought again, even if she knew it would return to haunt her, but Bryce Lawrence was no Luke, he hadn't attempted to kill her because she had been a threat to the revolution he was hoping to start.

Bryce was no more than a bastard, a traitor and now an attempted murderer. Just a cruel man-child that had found opposition to his tyranny and attempted to do away with said resistance.

Still Persephone thought bitterly, he had been one of her own and she hated loosing those who had been entrusted to her.

She could tell she wasn't the only one who had been hurt by Bryce betrayal though.

Russel was staring at the bigger boy with an open mouth, obviously not wanting to believe what he saw. Bryce might have been friendless in the cohort, he still had been comrade, someone who had trained and lived with them, who one day would have fought with them and who they had trusted to watch their back.

This was something that actually might end up destroying the cohort, Persephone feared.

Truthfully the centurion wanted nothing more than pinch herself and find out it was all but a bad dream. That somehow, Bryce Lawrence hadn't attempted to murder her and betrayed his comrades in the attempt.

It was a hope which seemed all the more likely since her body seemed to move upon its own, acting upon instinct and muscle memory rather than intent. It was a reassuring moment during which Persephone could hope it was no more than a dream.

However, that was no more than mere hope and this knowledge caused the cold feeling inside of her chest expand.

Bryce tried to kill her again, however this time Persephone was not sparring, she wasn't teaching, practicing, merely trying to have fun or even taking her rage out upon an unfortunate victim.

Bryce realised the same as well and no matter his own strength and skills, his shield or his desire to win, he found himself as outmatched as a child with a toy sword and a stick-horse who attempted to partake in a cavalry charge.

Persephone's eyes were cold and hard when they found his.

"I so loath traitors." She muttered, almost seeming to whisper.

He stabbed and Persephone stepped past his blade before slamming her own body against his shield, forcing it downwards. Then she stepped back again whilst simultaneously bringing her own blade down in an almost vertical arc. The sword bit deep into the top of his shield, but its reach went far beyond it and Bryce screamed both in surprise and pain when the sword tore through the flesh and muscle of his left shoulder.

Persephone twisted her sword, which broke small splinters from the shield and then pressed her hand just above the centre. It took little more than one push and a last wrench of her right hand to free the blade from the wooden debris.

Bryce lurched backwards, his left arm now uselessly pulled downwards by the weight of the ruined shield which had remained clutched into his fist.

Another wave of Persephone's weapon drove him even further backwards, her hand grasped the rim of his shield and she gave it a hard heave which made him stumble forward whilst the shield was ripped from his grip and clattered down against the roots of a tree.

Taking advantage of his distracted state, Persephone slammed her boot against the side of his knee, which made the joint buckle.

A cry of pain escaped Bryce's lips in return and the boy fell upon his side.

However before Persephone could even raise her sword to finish the traitor off, the sound of a loud crack pierced the air between the trees.

Persephone hesitated for a single second before she stepped backwards, out of the reach of Bryce's sword and she turned her head.

For a moment it appeared as if nothing was off.

Then some of the nearby bushes almost seemed to be pushed aside and three massive centaurs charged out of the brush.

Persephone did not waste a single moment and ran towards Russel and Dove, abandoning Bryce to whatever fate had meant for him.

"Down!" She yelled whilst digging her heels into the earth, still several feet away from them and she wrapped both her fists around the hilt of her sword.

Persephone felt the massive recoil when the first weapon, a heavy looking hatchet struck the curved edge of Riptide. Then the centaur had passed her by and Persephone turned her blade towards the next centaur, an equally menacing looking demi-human being who was running at her with a levelled spear like a medieval knight during a jousting competition.

Persephone turned around instantly and began running to her left, towards the javelin which Bryce had launched at her earlier.

Noticing the danger the centaur sped up even more whilst the third horse-man followed him at a more moderate pace.

Persephone could almost literally hear the earth shake under his hooves when she was not even half way the javelin. Then she twisted around to her left and fell upon one knee. Once again a centaur went past her without harming her, however her own sword made an almost horizontal sweep and bit deep into the rear leg of the centaur. The horse-man had not even the chance to realise one of his legs had been severed before he fell down with a dull thud. The third centaur had his own sword raised with both hands and charged right at her, obviously intending to trample her if his sword failed to kill her.

Still upon one knee, Persephone seemed to imitate his act by raising her sword as well in a two handed grip before she swung her arms backwards and then launched her weapon at the charging centaur.

The celestial bronze blade struck him upon the mouth, ruining his teeth until the waters of Pleghethon healed him or the magic of an ally would.

Struck with pain the centaur dropped his own weapon and turned away from the battlefield leaving only a single healthy horse-man behind whilst the mutilated centaur started to hobble to safety.

The centaur charged at the now seemingly unarmed Persephone, who waited upon him without showing so much as even a single sign of worry.

It was only at the last moment, that Persephone rubbed her thumb over her ring and revealed her second blade.

The centaur's end was almost mercifully fast, a single stab had ended his life. Persephone doubted he would have had the chance to feel the bronze tearing through his muscles and eventually his heart.

She turned her head towards the two remaining legionaries and walked to them, only pausing for a single second to pick her climbing axe up.

Bryce was long gone of course, fleeing to wherever it was the rat hoped to find some safety.

"What happened?" Persephone asked Dove with a rough, harsh sounding voice which hinted at an anger which the boy hadn't deserved.

Dove looked up at her with some fear in his eyes. Otherwise this would have made Persephone temper her voice, but in her current state her rage was too strong to register that thought.

"Bryce had found some traces from a horse." Dove said rapidly, "Fresh tracks which led in the direction of the camp until several more horse tracks crossed with the first."

"And after that, we found some blood and the first horse turned away from the camp before its tracks disappeared completely." Persephone continued whilst making a bored looking motion with her free hand. "I know, Winchester and Thrush informed me about that. What happened after he left?"

"I was looking at some of the remaining centaur tracks when I heard Bryce draw his sword from its scabbard." Dove continued. "When I looked up, he stabbed down and then slammed the hilt against the side of my head."

"He muttered something about leaving me alive to lure them in." Dove whispered after that.

"Without a doubt he would have killed you two too, after he had killed me." Persephone added bitter.

"I guess." Muttered Russel upon a sedated tone.

Persephone sighed. "We'll see to the rest later. Get him up!" She ordered Russel.

Persephone stared at the boy's belt for a moment and then did the same to Dove's.

"The signal horn?" She asked tiredly, already suspecting the answer.

"Bryce." Muttered Dove.

Persephone swore softly and pulled one of Dove's arms across her own shoulder.

"Start running," She ordered them, not doubting that by now those scouts would have found more members of the force they belonged too. "We got to reach the piquet before the horde is upon us."

Both Russel and Dove nodded, dumbly.

Unfortunately for the three of them, two of the teens were weighed down by armour and the third had just started his third sprint over the hills. Their condition was excellent but just their own disadvantages would have made a run difficult, the fact they had to drag a third legionary with them made it impossible.

Persephone was about to send Russel upon his own to warn the picket and have them blow their own horn when she heard said signal. Despite her exhaustion having reddened her face earlier, the daughter of Juno paled in a matter moments.

"Lawrence." She muttered, making the name sound like it was the most heinous of curses.

No doubt the boy had realised as well that a large group of monsters was about to close in on them.

Persephone knew that there was no way to reach the med-camp with just the three of them. There had been a small chance with one of the pickets. Two of the lighter, fresher members could have carried Dove whilst the others kept the first wave of enemies at bay. Whilst it would have been a desperate running battle, it could have been done. But thanks to that traitor the picket would now be on their way to the camp.

She snorted for a moment, if none of them made it, they might even believe him a hero.

That was if the camp had the time to prepare and maybe even could recall some of the legionaries who were currently fighting in the skirmishes to the front.

There were only a few options which gave them the chance to make Lawrence pay for his betrayal.

Persephone sighed.

"Let him go, Russel." She ordered whilst slowing down.

"What?" Asked the boy baffled.

Persephone stared at him for a moment. "I told you to release him!" Persephone said with a cold, grim determination in her voice.

"I am not abandoning a comrade, centurion." Russel told her with an almost surprising anger in his voice.

At another moment Persephone would have felt proud and smiled, now she only felt annoyance.

"You will do what your superior officer tells you to, boy!" Persephone spat with a cold anger which instantly made Russel flinch.

"I am not abandoning Dove to the monsters." Whispered Russel again, more stubborn than actually willing to stand up to Persephone."

"And you won't, that's why I am here!" Persephone thundered.

"Centurion?" Dove asked, obviously taken aback by her words.

"What? You thought I would be running with you?" Persephone sneered.

Russel nodded weakly.

"I'll be holding them off until you're back with the others." Persephone continued and than for a moment she smiled. It was not a kind or a happy smile, instead it was grim and even brutal. The kind of smile that promised bloodshed and pain. "By tonight the monsters will curse Bryce Lawrence for the Tartarus he raised." Persephone whispered to him. "Now run."

Russel was still pale looking, but the boy nodded, dropped his shield and weapons except for his sword and started to run.

Persephone took another deep breath.

She pointed her gaze towards some of the thornier shrubs.

"Let's get you to something vaguely resembling safety." She muttered.

* * *

If she was honest Persephone would admit that Bryce had created a rather impressive ambush, an obviously improvised ambush of course, but still considering the circumstances he had done an excellent job.

The boy had judged her character perfectly. Usually she would have been far more careful, especially considering the presence of an augury but he had employed the right mixture of incompetence, mystery and cunning to have her own arrogance, annoyance and curiosity drag her from the safety of her camp.

Perhaps she should have seen it coming, but considering her own nature, she could not fault herself for not seeing it. After all, loyalty had been one of her most defining traits.

And without a doubt Lawrence had realised the same easily enough.

There was no way she'd ever abandon one of her own, no matter the situation. Russel might have imagined her running to safety alongside of him and she could see the sense in that, but honestly when had she ever been sensible?

She was a centurion, it was her duty to defend her legionaries, to lead them forward at the head of the column and to be the last off the field in case of a defeat. These rules were simple enough and they felt right, just like it felt right to defend one of her wounded men after a traitor had caused those wounds. There was no great philosophy or an attempt to measure the scale of the advantages against the disadvantages and the risks.

It actually was that simple; it felt right to stand there, alone against an unknown number of enemies and in some way it was her duty to do so. Persephone did not attempt to rationalise things to keep herself from standing there, nor did she search for excuses to escape.

A small smile played upon Persephone lips, it had a reason she had been Grecian heroine and not a philosopher.

It might be irresponsible to risk her life like that, for so little, but then again when would something be worth her life anyway?

Persephone sighed for a moment shook her head for a moment and then removed her arm from Dove's shoulder. The boy instantly sought the support from a nearby tree but Persephone pointed one hand in the direction of the shrubs. Persephone had no idea of what type of plants they were, but they had large branches and twigs which were rife with thorns and heavy with leaves.

A loud tearing sound make Dove look up from the bushes and he noticed that Persephone had ripped the short left sleeve from her shirt. In another moment, the right sleeve was subjected to the same fate. A few rapid motions from her hands later and the girl had both pieces of cloth wrapped around most of her fingers and her hands.

As such protected, Juno's daughter grabbed a particularly large branch of the bush and bended that away, revealing a very small gap between the shrubs.

"You've got to be kidding me." Muttered Dove at her which instantly prompted an eye roll.

"Take Russel's shield with you." Persephone told him in return.

In another case she might have laughed openly at the image of seeing the large, heavily armoured boy sitting with such obvious discomfort between three walls of thorns and leaves.

Now, well she might still have smiled and released the branch. Said limb struck against the shield with a loud scraping sound and considering the muttered curses she heard from the shrubbery, it seemed that the impact had forced him a bit deeper into the thorns.

Persephone's smile grew a bit broader, She might be about to risk her life for him, that did not mean his behaviour from the last months had been forgiven or forgotten.

She had only a few more moments and used those to hack a single, large branch from another part of the bush with her climbing axe. She removed the thorns where she intended to grab the limb and then placed it next to her left boot whilst she planted the tip of riptide into the ground at her right.

Only one thing remained to do. Persephone reached for the traverse crest which topped her helmet and removed it with a few motions from her dexterous fingers, a moment later it hung at the back of her belt. After all, it wasn't like being more visible would help anyone but her opponents.

With this last act completed, the daughter of Juno sank upon one knee and waited for the arrival of her enemies.

By now, Persephone had done all she could do upon such a short notice, any more and she risked her efforts being detected and turned fruitless.

Persephone had picked her ground, the area she had chosen was at the top of a relative steep slope which was still thick with trees although there were a few open spots were the oldest trees had been cut down which resulted into a number of tree stumps which were about as high as her knee and as broad as a small table.

Furthermore there were a few deep fissures into the earth as well as a number of large craters and holes, some them almost certainly the result of the digging from legionaries. However that would have been years ago. Still, most of them had remained steep enough to slow even an experienced mountaineer down and a small number of them was almost vertical like a wall.

Perhaps there were more indomitable areas in the hills, but Persephone doubted there would be many which were more suitable for a so-called last stand than this one.

It was indeed a fitting end for a hero, if the gods were mercifully she might even get some kind of worship going on after her death.

Persephone smiled for a moment, then her smile froze and her eyes grew cold.

Underneath her knee, she felt the first shivers go through the earth and Persephone brushed one finger over the scarred wood from which she had the thorns removed.

The branch was long and rather heavy. Not a true spear but certainly longer than any sword and far more useful than most blades ever could hope to be in breaking the charge of the centaurs.

Loud cries in numerous languages brayed through the forest and then she heard the sound of heavy iron shod hooves stomping upon the ground.

Persephone caught her first glimpses of the horse-men who were charging straight at her.

"Nico..." Persephone started, whispering her friend's name before continuing with a loud, determined voice. "Count...my...dead!"

* * *

The first centaur reached the top of the slope and slammed directly upon the blunt tip of her raised branch, splintering the wood against his bare chest.

The centaur cried out in a pain and reared up but Persephone stepped to her right and raised her branch up again, but this time no longer in defence.

The wood fell upon the side of the next centaur, leaving numerous thorns behind in his unprotected flesh. A third attempted to evade Persephone but found himself immediately regretting that decision when the thrown branch struck his face.

More centaurs attempted to reach the centurion but these three had blocked the easiest path to the daughter of Juno and the others had no choice but to slow down and halt behind these first three or attempt to swerve past them and the presence of so many trees would therefore make it difficult to come within sword's reach of Persephone.

Persephone on the other hand had no intention to give them the time to surround her.

The teenager threw herself upon the clump of centaurs.

None of the horse-men stood a chance, their size was now no more than a handicap, something which gave Persephone a larger target to tear through with her sword and so she did.

For the centaurs it was an experience fit for a nightmare, they attempted to fight her of course and did so bravely, they roared and shouted, swung their blades in every direction and stabbed down, kicked with their hooves or reared up in attempt to crush her. However, Persephone was small, fast and utterly bereft of restrains whilst they desperately tried to keep themselves from wounding their own comrades.

They stood their ground and died bravely until the other monsters arrived, it was only when this far larger group had gathered behind them that the centaurs retreated and considering the speed with which they did so, the gathering of empousai, Lastrygonians and dracaenae couldn't have come fast enough.

Above them again at the top of her slope, Persephone sought for any indication of rank or leadership whilst she waited for them to attack.

A loud, obviously male voice shouted: "Get her!" Before turning that last syllable in a loud roar whilst charging forward, at the head of the wave of monsters.

Persephone pointed her sword at the Lastrygonian who had roared in return and then reached downward for one of the javelins which had been carried upon the back from one of the slain centaurs and sent the missile down the slope.

The first Lastyrgonian went down and for a moment the remaining assailants slowed down.

The silence was just enough to allow the sound from a soft, throaty chuckling to descend from the top of the slope, when monsters grinded their teeth and looked upwards they saw the demigoddess slowly walk downwards, still accompanied by the sound of her soft chuckling, then she raised her sword upwards as if giving them a mocking salute.

Below her another voice hissed "Kill her." and the mass of monsters surged forward again.

Persephone walked slowly, allowing them to reach her as high as possible upon the slope. She saw the ranks of the monsters unravel due to the presence of the trees and holes in front of her. It was only at that moment that she struck.

Her calm, almost lethargic steps shifted into a few rapid paces before she jumped, launching herself against their line.

The rather small looking Empousa who she had picked out fell due to the impact of Persphone's body, a moment later the bronze coloured arc from Riptide was stained with gold and red whilst the empousa's neighbour, a far larger, more cheerleader-like looking empousa collapsed whilst clutching her throat. Reaching out, Persephone grabbed the wrist of the dying monster and hurled her against the opponent behind her previous victim.

Persephone made a quick step to the right and slammed her sword down upon the shield rim of a Lastrygonian in an almost vertical slash from her sword. However the wave of relief which the cannibal's raised shield brought him turned into shock when, after a small motion of her wrist, Persephone turned her failed slash into a stab which destroyed his face.

The Lastrygonian stumbled backwards, still clutching his face with his now bloodied hands whilst behind him, his companions closed ranks and attempted to form a small shield wall. Persephone placed a single kick against the lower half of one of the interlocking shields but in reality she had no interest in attempting to break such a line. Instead she turned to her left where the line of monsters was still in shambles. A first horizontal cut went straight through the throat of a dracaena. Another dracaena turned upon the Demigoddess and tried to stop her but her sword was caught by the curved edge of Persephone's blade and a moment later she fell backwards when the horsehead from the hilt slammed against her head.

An empousa attempted to cut the centurion down with a rather clumsy cut aimed at Persephone's side but the girl spun around whilst extending her sword arm making the empousa take a step backwards which made the cheerleader's back hit the trunk of a tree. Then the daughter of Juno took a step forward and closed her free hand around the wrist of Hecate's creation.

Using her own momentum Persephone launched the empousa into the shambles of the mass to the demigoddess' left.

Persephone followed immediately after the bronze-legged monster, adding new layers of blood and gold-dust upon her sword with every motion of the celestial bronze.

All around Persephone, she heard growling, cursing and shouting, most of it was needless or at least harmless to her, no more than the usual sounds which were made in battle, however there was a hissing voice which came to sound louder with every pace she set towards the rear of the left line.

Persephone made her way towards the voice, whilst more monsters tried to stop her and fell in return. Some of them dead, others only hurt, some of these cried out in pain for relief or aid, others attempted to endure and bit down in an attempt to stay silent. Persephone made no attempt to finish off either of these. Some part of her would ascribe that to some sort of chivalry, a kind of respect for those who had faced her. Another part was far more practical, why slay the wounded when they won't be able to raise a weapon against her during this battle anyway? Especially since the less brave living would be dragging them away from the battle in attempt to escape from the slaughter themselves.

So why stop the wounded and dying from crying out if it will discourage the living from fighting her?

Persephone liked to think that it was the first reason which kept her sword from finishing the wounded off, however she was well aware from this second reason.

And thus the battle continued.

Persephone blocked one sword and then grabbed the wrist of the empousa's hand which belonged to said sword and twisted it with enough strength to make her opponent drop the weapon. Still holding the empousa's wrist Persephone whirled around again.

Persephone felt the soft, but expected blow against her own back when the captured empousa slammed against her back, where she momentarily served as a "human" shield. And for a few moments those few enemies who had actually succeeded in surrounding her stayed their swords. None of them dared to attack, knowing well that if they did the empousa would be the main- and most likely only victim of their weapons.

Then Persephone released the hand of the creation of Hecate whilst simultaneously slamming the back of her helmeted head again the unprotected head of the monster-woman.

Distracted by the impact the monster wobbled forward, away from the Demigoddess who charged forward. Still running, Persephone raised a single hand towards the sky.

Scarcely a moment later, a metallic scraping sound echoed through the trees.

There was a metallic clang when Riptide fell upon the sword of the nearest Cannibal, a wet sucking sound followed when Persephone's second blade buried itself deep into his belly and was torn out again.

An empousa armed with a spear and a shield raised her weapon up in defence, only to find the tip of her spear pushed away by one sword. A moment later Hecate's creature felt her main leg being swooped from underneath her and then her back hit the ground.

The last thing she was capable of recognising before her consciousness would fade away was the underside of a boot.

Both swords tore their bloody path across the battlefield and Persephone felt the monsters around her falter.

She took a single deep breath and then as if physically strengthened by this intake of air, exclaimed the same battle cry she had earlier.

"Nico..." Riptide tore through the chest of a cannibal.

"Count..." A sweep of her leg made an empousa stumble.

"My..." Her second blade buried itself deep into the throat of a dracaena

"Dead!" Both her weapons made a scissoring motion and the decapitated body of Lastrygonian slumped down upon his knees, his head rolled to the left whilst the body ended up sinking backwards.

All around her the monsters were taking at least a single step backwards and more than a few of them took a second as well for good measure.

"Nico, count my dead!" was a battle cry which had been launched during the darkest, most desperate moment of the Battle of Manhattan. When the campers had found themselves alone and abandoned by the Olympus, with all betrayal revealed to them and caught by the throat by the clawed hand of Kronos forces. At that moment with Annabeth wounded, Typhon closing in and not just monsters but also Luke's demigods falling down upon them, it had been the rallying cry for their final stand.

"Nico, count my dead!" All it called for was blood and death. It was a promise which had not remained unfulfilled and none of the participants would ever forget that.

Persephone stood alone but her earlier prowess and that battle cry was enough to make the monsters hesitate and slowly the image of a green eyed Greek demigoddess started to overlap with the chocolate eyed Roman swordswoman in front of them.

And as if both parties were caught in the memories of that bloody day, monsters died by her hand.

* * *

"What the fuck happened?" Demanded a furious Drew from the leader of the newly arrived picket.

Rose Marshal raised her head up for a moment, the (currently dismounted) horsewoman took a few deep breaths in an attempt to stop herself from panting whilst pushing upon her knees.

She wasted few words with explaining how Bryce Lawrence had stumbled to them and told them of the arrival of a large group of monsters.

"Where?" Asked Drew in return.

"According to Bryce in the direction of the higher regions to the northwest." Muttered the daughter of Epona.

"And what about Persephone and the remains of his own picket?" Drew asked her whilst narrowing her eyes at Lawrence.

"Dove was wounded and the centurion killed when the centaurs caught us by surprise. Russel attempted to run directly to the camp, if he isn't here yet, I fear he did not make it." Lawrence replied and despite his words, there was not a hint of regret or fear in his voice.

Drew stared at the boy for a few seconds, but she couldn't afford to question him more extensively for the moment, not when only the Gods knew how close the monsters might be upon the picket's heels.

She turned around and started yelling her orders.

"Legionaries form up in fulcum-formation! I wanna see the horsemen at the flanks, mounted and supported by half of the velites!"

She hesitated for a single moment and then pointed her gaze at the encampment.

"Three quarter of the medics fall back to the tunnel, every one of the wounded who can walk or can be carried accompanies them."

"Weiss!" Drew yelled, calling Persephone's optio out.

"Centurion!" replied the girl, having learned that that particular word was often capable of replacing many sentences in her dealing with officers.

"Take command of the reserve!" Drew ordered her, "Be quick to plug every gap in the line but do not allow yourself to be sucked into the actual combat."

Weiss simply nodded and turned around to join her reserve.

"Do you need me for anything else?" Asked Bryce whilst taking a step showed a clear limp.

Drew stared at him for another moment, then she shrugged. "Go back with the rest of the wounded and start thinking about what happened, I know I won't be the only one who wants to know why we lost a centurion and two legionaries today."

Bryce nodded and Drew turned her attention back to the direction from which she suspected the monsters to come.

However instead of that, her attention was drawn by a loud outcry from a velite and she turned her head into the direction the boy was pointing his bow at.

There was a lone teenager who came crashing from the hilled forest.

His face was red with exhaustion and even from their current distance Drew could see he was panting.

She heard a long high pitched sound like a hunting horn and swore softly.

"Fulcum... Advance!" She called out.

In front of her the first line of legionaries raised their knee from the ground and began walking, it were small, rather slow steps but they allowed them to present an unbroken wall of shields and javelins to the front.

Behind this first wall of wood and metal, the second line kept their shield up, and so protected the otherwise vulnerable heads of this first line legionaries.

The third line had lowered their shields and no longer utilised them to form a roof, instead they had pressed them into the back of the legionaries to push them forward and help them resist the expected charge.

The fourth line of legionaries and velites had formed a much loser formation at a few paces behind this wall of oak and metal. They walked at a much more relaxed pace but each of them had a javelin, sling or bow ready and was obviously prepared to bombard whatever enemy that would get within the range of their missiles.

At the flanks of the formation there was a small number of horsemen and skirmishers walking alongside of the legionaries, they were a far less impressive sight than the moving wall of wood and metal but then again it wasn't as if they were expected to win the actual battle either.

Drew herself had taken her position at a small hill just behind the line when she felt the trembling of the earth.

Then a long line centaurs ran out of the forest.

"Something around a fifty," Drew thought after doing a quick headcount, before mentally adding "and a few of them look rather shaken" with a small smirk.

She waited for a few more seconds but when no other monsters appeared, she pointed her sword at the monsters.

"Advance with closed ranks. We're not letting them pick one of our own off before our eyes!" She yelled.

A loud growl which implied their direct agreement came from the ranks of the legionaries and the formation kept crawling forward.

For a moment the centaurs seemed to hesitate, then their line surged forward.

"Give that legionnaire all the cover you can offer, release your missiles at their centre!"

The fourth line and the velites at the flanks halted and their missiles flew with a small arc over the line of their own legionaries before crashing into the centre of centaurs.

A few of the centaurs fell down, but most simply swerved aside and then turned around before disappearing into the forest.

"Get him here!" Drew ordered the most nearby legionary.

When Russel arrived, the boy was leaning heavily upon the legionary and looked as if he was about to faint.

"What in Pluto's name is going on?" She asked him instantly.

"The ...centurion...Dove...need...help!" was all he could say between panting before he bowed forward and started retching.

At another moment Drew would not have been able to ignore the sound of the almost vomiting from the boy in front of her, however at the current moment she had more important troubles than her own sensibilities.

"Lawrence claimed you and the others were dead." She said.

"He tried...fucking traitor." Muttered Russel.

Drew paused for a single moment, then she pointed at one of the horsemen. "Get your ass to the tunnel and have them set Lawrence apart. We'll find out about the details later."

She turned her eyes back upon Russel. "Do you know where they are?" Drew asked him.

The boy nodded.

"Do you know how many monsters there are?"

At this Russel shook his head. "At least another fifty, but don't ...know how many more." He took another deep breath. "The centurion said ... she would hold them back ... until reinforcements arrived.

Drew hesitated for a moment, then she sighed.

"You," she yelled at one the mounted legionaries, "give him your horse."

"Forty legionaries with me!" She yelled whilst pointing her sword at the forest. "Velites and horsemen will remain in the open."

"Christy," she yelled whilst pointing at her own Decurion, "you're in command."

* * *

The dracaenae who had been hissing earlier, slowly reached for her throat whilst she stared at the lone demigoddess, who stood still another twenty foot away from her, in disbelief.

Then she looked down and noticed the mixture of blood and gold dust upon her hand.

Slowly, almost as if the time had been slowed down, she felt herself slumping down until she fell forward, driving the falcata even deeper into her neck with her own weight.

In front of the dracaenae, Persephone slammed her shoulder against the chest of a massive Lastrygonian, whilst she reached for scabbard of his cleaver-like sword and forced it between his legs. When the impact of her shoulder forced him to take a step backwards, the scabbard of his own weapon was caught between his legs and he stumbled backwards.

The much smaller centurion did not waste the opportunity she had created and slammed the palm of her hand against the Lastyrgonian's chest and drove him forward as a mixture of a "human" shield and a battering ram. The young woman kept pushing him forward, all the while her remaining sword swept through flesh and armour, mixing the pain of her enemies with her own savage joy.

Common sense would have dictated that Persephone died, that there was no way that a single warrior could have held her own against such numbers, let alone if each of her opponents could boast of a greater physical strength or size.

It was a fitting end for the drama Bryce had written and whilst the monsters might have been willing to play their part as the victims and conquerors of the lone heroine, neither of these had ever imagined that the main-character of the story would refuse to fulfil her intended role.

Persephone was no mere swordswoman, where others moved with the elegance of a dancer, the overwhelming strength of giant or a breathtaking skill, she hunted. And the monsters instinctively knew that, that maybe for the first time in their lives, they were no more than prey.

There was elegance in her motions but it mirrored the suppleness of a she-wolf pouncing down with bared teeth, there was strength in her arms which belied her lack of seize, there was skill which had been sharpened by years of experience and countless hours of tireless training.

This was the daughter of the Queen of the gods, the disinherited daughter of the ruler of oceans and the Horselord, the cousin of the ruler of the Underworld and the ruler of the skies. And the monsters? They found out that like Mars and Bellona, her adopted siblings, Persephone ruled the battlefield.

Confronted with such odds, every motion was as risky as jumping whilst standing upon a rope hundreds of feet above the ground, where the winds screeched and blew, all the while these attempted to drag her down. There was no safety net and making even the smallest mistake was enough to make her fall without so much as a single chance of ever getting up.

There was no protection, no second chance or pity for her if she made a mistake, but Persephone made none.

Every motion she made was done with a confidence which bordered to arrogance, every pace a part of a self-invented choreography which turned the battle into an exercise with Mors rather than a battle of life and death between her and army of monsters.

Persephone killed and killed again, not showing any indication of being aware of the numbers of her opponents. And rather than feeling strengthen by these numbers, each and every one of them noticed with a sickening awareness how frightened these others were and how much they wanted to run.

In front them, Persephone caught this change in their mood and smirked.

Another monster went down but rather than killing him, she reaching for his neck and launched him amidst his brethren and sisters whilst he still attempted to scramble up.

Unlike before when she charged into the gap which her flailing victim had created, she now simply extended her empty hand upwards and waited until she felt the familiar weight of her second blade into her palm.

Then she returned to her traditional pose, one sword pointed at the eyes of her enemies but now her second blade was present as well and it hung above her like the stinger of a scorpion.

Persephone stared at the most nearby monsters and chuckled, a throaty and loud sound amidst of the heavy silence.

For a few moments nothing happened, there was just the sound of the Demigoddess's chuckling and ripple which went through their ranks when so many of them took an instinctual step backwards. Nothing was done, despite their numbers because each and every one of them knew that whoever it was that would yell a war cry or who would take a step forward to lead the charge to end her, that monster would be among the first to enter Tartarus again.

And despite every promise done to them, every threat which had been impressed upon them, none of them wanted to be the first.

It seemed to take an eternity before a single Lastrygonian found his courage again.

"Use your javelins!" He yelled.

A moment later his initiative was rewarded with a falcata which pierced the side of his unprotected head.

However a single throw failed to keep the numerous arms from reaching for their own javelins, bows and slings or even for branches and clumps of earth which were flung at the demigoddess.

Persephone dropped herself upon one knee and reached for her brother's watch which promptly started to expand until it became over three feet in diameter.

Her shield appeared just in time to protect her and the girl instantly started shuffle backwards to get a greater distance and some more trees between her and them.

Persephone knew she had little time until some of the monsters would reach an angle from which he or she could plant a missile in her flank or back. Still, so far the brass which covered several layers of wood withstood every one of the projectiles.

However instead of more missiles slamming against the brass, what followed was a silence until a single whispered title reached her.

"Monster Slayer."

Years ago Tyson had crafted this shield which was disguised as a watch for her and he had engraved it with numerous images from their adventures. Throughout the Titan War, the Cyclops had regularly repaired and updated it so that eventually it had turned into a long tribute to the victories of the Demigods and herself. As consequence this shield had become just as recognisable as its owner.

Persephone resisted the urge to cuss up a storm for this, her first actual mistake, instead she slowly stood up.

Earlier, the monsters had been unaware of who she was, now they would come knowing that it would require a high price of their blood to take her down.

Persephone took a deep breath.

Then she turned around whilst slinging her shield upon her back and sprinted towards the almost vertical slope of the hill.

Persephone turned Riptide back into its pen-form and dropped it into her pocket whilst drawing her climbing axe.

A first missile struck her shield and she felt it strike with an impact like the blow of a sledgehammer upon her back. Another blow struck her shield when she had reached the edge of the slope and grasped a thin tree which she used to pull herself up.

The edge of the climbing-axe reached past the trunk of another, far thicker tree and then its teeth bit deep into the wood allowing Persephone pull herself up again.

Persephone chuckled for a moment, "How did I survive without one of these before?" she asked herself whilst half-climbing, half- crawling towards the top of the slope.

Then she heard the loud sound of a horn and for a few moments the monsters seemed torn between following her and retreating.

Persephone laughed loudly in return.

"Come on, you bastards!" She yelled whilst raising her sword and keeping her shield in front of her. "The Monster Slayer awaits!"

Her sword fell down again, snapping the shafts of some of the arrows and smaller javelins which had lodged themselves in the layers of the wood, hide and bronze from her shield.

A second horn sounded and this time the monsters surged forward again, some of them went directly at her whilst others took the longer, but more manageable route which was currently littered with slain monsters.

Persephone narrowed her eyes.

"Me and my big mouth!" She grumbled whilst turning away from the slope.

The teenager shrunk her shield again and pulled Riptide from her pocket.

It wasn't long before the first wave of monsters charged out of the trees at Persephone.

Juno's daughter gave them a lazy salute and jumped over the edge.

Her boots struck almost instantly against the chest from a particularly tall Lastrygonian, who promptly fell down and began rolling down the steep slope. Persephone steadied herself by slamming the climbing axe into the trunk of a tree and then began her own descend downward.

It was unfair confrontation to say the least, the Lastrygonians (the only present monsters who could even hope to climb a slope that steep) were spread out and struggling to keep their balance. They were easy targets for Persephone who had a far easier time to move and steady herself due to her climbing axe.

Then the second horn sound again and this time the monsters turned their heads back into the direction from which they had come.

They wasted one more moment to stare at Persephone then they raced back downwards.

Some of them slipped and fell down, a few of the others slowed down to help them back up but they had wasted too much time already.

Three lines of the heavy, painted body shields had appeared from between the trees.

"Pila iace!" yelled Drew.

A moment later three successive waves of pilums struck the mass of monsters.

Fortunately for the monsters, the javelins fell upon them from the left, which was the side to which most monsters carried their shield. However in the panicked run, few monsters had remembered to present their shields and therefore the pilae had made an otherwise surprising amount of victims.

Drew took a deep breath and yelled "Opugnare!" then she charged forward, closely followed by her legionaries.

Persephone could see the obvious hesitation in the face of some of the monsters, then a Lastrygonian and an Empousa waved their weapons in a circle above their head whilst yelling a few words in the direction of the other monsters.

It was a thin line of monsters which met the charge of Drew's legionaries and none of them would survive. The more numerous legionaries easily pushed them aside or went past their flank and then killed them with a few rapid stabs of their gladius.

That their death was certain did not mean they went down quick though.

A few of them were instantly pushed down and finished off, but the rest formed small groups, most of them only were two or three monsters strong but one group counted six monsters and all of these made a brave effort to fight back.

The monsters retreated slowly towards the woods, knowing that there would be no safety for them there but it would slow the legionnaires further down.

From the two remaining leaders, it was the Empousa who went down first. A javelin, thrown by one of the legionaries at the rear of the assault, entered through her left-cheek before exiting through the right-cheek.

She wasn't death yet, but it was enough to throw her down in shock.

The others simply fought on.

Persephone took no part in the mopping up of these last monsters, instead she walked slowly towards the fallen Empousa, still heaving due to her own exhaustion.

A single kick removed the sword from the Empousa's hand and thus safe from the weapon, the daughter of Juno kneeled down next to humanoid.

"They won't get to the other monsters anymore." Persephone told her with a tired voice which contained a feeling which the Empousa couldn't recognise at that moment. Still Persephone had admitted what Hecate's creature most likely already knew but would have hoped upon.

"Without horses the other monsters will be too far to reach them by now and the legionaries will be too tired to follow them over a long distance." Persephone continued.

"It was a brave action." Perspehone admitted and to the Empousa's surprise she realised that the Demigoddess sounded friendly and reassuring. "With this you two have turned what would have been a massacre into a mere defeat."

"What's your name Empousa?" Persephone asked her whilst retaining her earlier tone.

"Helen." Whispered the Empousa in return, it was a weak and slurred sound due to the wounds upon both her cheeks and the blood which by now would have filled her mouth, but it was still recognisable.

The daughter of Juno brushed two fingers over the wounds.

"Then Helen, if in Tartarus or upon earth anyone ever dares to question you courage, tell them Persephone Jackson, Kronos Bane and Monster Slayer called you brave."

Slowly Persephone brushed both bloodied fingers over Helen's eyes, closing them whilst leaving a pair of thin red with gold stripes behind upon her eyelids.

Then a sudden quiver went through the empousa's body and Helen's spirit left for Tartarus.

Back upon the battlefield, Persephone slipped her sword free from between the monster's ribs.

"Good to see you're alive." Said a tired sounding voice from behind her.

Persephone nodded in return. "Good to see you, as well." She replied with a soft, but even more tired sounding voice.

"Persephone took a deep breath. "Dove is hidden between the shrubs behind the top of the slope." She continued.

Drew paused for a few moments, she could tell Persephone was far from all right even if the girl did not act as if she was physically wounded.

"We'll retreat back to the camp in a moment." Drew told her whilst the centurion placed a hand upon the other girl's shoulder.

Persephone nodded absentminded.

"Have the legionaries gather the fallen weapons." She told Drew upon the same tired tone she used earlier.

"I'll make certain the Fifth gets its due from the re-forged weapons." The daughter of Venus promised her.

Persephone stared at her for a moment whilst looking confused, than she shook her head.

"No, send them to Reyna first." Persephone told her before sighing again. "Gods, I am looking forward to finally getting some good news."

Drew stared her curiously. "Why, what's wrong with these weapons?" She asked Persephone.

Persephone sighed again. "I'll explain it later. We really shouldn't remain here" She whispered.

"And," She confessed, "I am really not in the mood for talking right now."

"Russel accused Lawrence of treason, was he right?" Drew asked her, almost certain that the answer to that question was a yes.

Persephone nodded in return and Drew noticed the downcast expression of the centurion after that motion.

"At least the monsters are in full retreat for now." Drew told her.

"And," the daughter of Venus added, "as far as I know no-one has died yet."

This actually did prompt a small smile upon Persephone face.

The centurion of the Fourth waited for a bit longer whilst Persephone left the remains, ostensibly overseeing the gathering of the fallen weapons.

Nobody paid any attention to the daughter of Venus when she bade the pair of legionaries which supported Dove to halt.

Shooting the boy her kindest, most dazzling smile Drew brushed a single finger down Dove's cheek.

"Would you, please, tell me what happened here?" She asked Dove.

She shot the boy another bright smile. "I would really like to know the truth about what happened."

Dove blinked for a moment and then thoroughly charmed, he told her everything without a second thought.

"Thank you, that helped me lot." Drew continued. "Is there anything else you might want to tell me?"

"They called her the Monster Slayer." Dove said and then quickly added. "I think I discovered who her godly parent was."

Drew stared at the boy for a moment with some curiosity. "Then who is it?" She asked him.

"Mors!" Whispered Dove. "It must have been Mors!"

* * *

It had only been a little over half an hour later when the representatives of the cohorts in the camp had gathered one of the smaller rooms of the Senate.

"Has any trace from Lawrence been found?" Reyna asked Drew with a cold voice.

The teenager shook her head.

"No, that bastard must have fled once Russel appeared from the forest." Drew replied with a, for her, remarkable harsh sounding voice. "At the time Christy was unaware of his treason. So she paid no attention to him. With all those legionaries around, whatever traces he might have left behind were spoiled by the time they started to look for him."

"If the Gods are with us, one of the eagles will find him." muttered one of the centurions of the Second.

Drew scoffed at that remark. "If the Gods are just," she corrected him, "the ground will open underneath him and he'll go straight to the Fields of Punishment or even Tartarus."

More than a few of the Romans snorted at that notion and even more openly smiled.

Persephone who sat there, raised her head only a little at that remark. Thereby showing the currently paleness of her own features and sighed softly before adding a small but grim smile of her own.

Reyna stared at the representatives for a moment and whilst her eyes softened for a moment when they lingered upon the Centurion of the Fifth, they were even colder and harsher once they left Persephone.

"Is there anyone who can bring an objection up for erasing Lawrence's name from the books?" Reyna asked upon a tone which implied that there would be heavy consequences for whoever tried to do so with a reason which fell short from spectacular.

None of them did. After his betrayal, the attempted murders and his desertion there would be no mercy from the Roman laws and conventions for Lawrence.

In the ancient times, just the first of these crimes would have been punished by crucifixion and cruel as it was, this one law had never been changed. Roman laws and conventions where cruel, but sometimes it was hard to find sympathy.

And for Lawrence, it was particularly hard to find sympathy. Persephone did not doubt that at least some of her legionaries would openly welcome his desertion.

Even so, his crimes would still stick to the cohort.

And Persephone was extremely grateful that none of the other centurions had brought that fact up so without being there, Lawrence still casted a shadow upon them.

She couldn't help but feel a cold, cruel anger burning inside of her at the thought of the teenager. It was the part of her that seemed to tell that she had been slighted and was eager for revenge. The same part that wanted her to execute his punishment herself.

Another part of her had since a long time realised that, no matter how much she loathed the boy, she was tired of bloodshed and no matter how justified it would have been, she had no desire for more blood upon her hands.

If she was lucky, the monsters would perform that duty for her.

"What measures did you take before returning, Drew?" Reyna asked the centurion.

"I send word to the remaining patrols who were currently caught in the skirmishes with the monsters." Drew told her. "There was an unknown amount of monsters present in a flanking position and they had to retreat back to the entrance of the tunnel as soon as possible."

Persephone did not doubt that Reyna had already been made aware of those orders earlier, still wording it as a question invited less criticism than a simple announcement might have done.

Some of the centurions stared at Drew for a moment, clearly wondering whether she hadn't overreacted considering how easily she and her reinforcements had driven the monsters back.

At this point, Reyna came once again to Drew's aide.

"How many centaurs did you face?" Reyna asked Persephone upon a kind tone.

"Twenty," Persephone muttered, still sounding tired. "maybe twenty five at most but certainly no more than that."

Reyna nodded. "And yet Drew saw something of a fifty centaurs who were still fit for battle." She said. "Only the gods know how many more monsters might have been near to attack them."

All around the table there were teenagers swearing, each of them was aware of what might have happened.

"If we go by that math, there might have been over hundred of lesser monsters even without the centaurs." Muttered Octavian.

The teenager pretended to shiver for a moment, "Or at least another two times as many if we accept the traditional ratio."

"Indeed." Agreed Reyna, "I have already send orders to another maniple of the Seventh and one of the First cohort to gather upon the Field of Mars."

"They will join the patrols at the entrance and scour the area until we're certain there are no large concentrations of monsters in the vicinity of the camp." She said before fixing her eyes at the present leaders of those cohorts.

"I will lead them myself from the sky." She told them, once again making it obvious that this was no suggestion.

There came no challenge after those words. Even if they disliked not being in control of their own legionaries, everyone in the room knew very well that Reyna had both the authority and the skills to do so.

"There is more." Muttered Persephone with a soft voice whilst her eyes seemed to wander the table rather than the people who were seated at it.

"Most of the monsters I've faced," She continued, only pausing to sigh, "they were no warriors, they're amateurs who've gotten some rudimentary training before getting shoved into the battle."

"Well, that explains why you could hold your own against fifty of them." muttered one of the centurions at the other end of the table.

This time Persephone did raise her eyes up again, clearly showing the sudden upsurge of the fire in the chocolate orbs. Persephone had not been able to recognise the voice of the speaker, but she could see Reyna had fixed a glare upon the centurion from the Eight.

"I suggest you start by facing off against twenty enemies of your own, before you challenge her skills." Whispered Reyna with a noticeable cold in her voice. "Perhaps after that you can level up to fifty opponents.

"Or, "She added, "You can try challenging her to a fight in the arena."

The centurion raised his hands up in surrender at Reyna.

The praetor ignored him in return.

"That does explain the current kill ratio between us and them." Admitted Reyna whilst turning back to Persephone.

She smiled for a moment. "At least that means they're getting desperate."

"No, they're not." Persephone muttered.

"What do you mean, Persephone?" Asked Reyna in return.

Persephone sighed again. "I asked Drew to have some of their weapons send here." Persephone whispered whilst leaning into her chair. "Just take a look and you'll understand."

Reyna stared at Drew for a moment but the daughter of Venus seemed no less baffled than anyone else here.

Reyna turned her head towards a pair of her praetorians and made an impatient motion with her hand.

Said legionaries nodded and disappeared for a few moments before returning with one basket each which was contained a number of swords.

Another motion from Reyna's hand and the teenagers scattered the weapons all over the table.

Every centurion saw that there was a large variety of weapons, from a relative small, leaf-shaped Xiphos to much longer and far more ancient looking swords which wouldn't have seemed unfamiliar to the likes of Achilles and Aeneas, furthermore there were a few Roman gladii in different styles and even three swords which had once been crafted by cyclopean master smiths. These were beautiful weapons which had been specifically crafted for one warrior and no one else would ever wield that sword with the same ease. Persephone recognised one of the weapons as having belonged to Helen.

Reyna's hand, however went not to these ancient blades, instead her fingers closed themselves around the hilt of a completely different weapon.

Everybody noticed how Reyna's eyes narrowed when she raised it up from the table and gave a few experimental slashes with it.

Then she dropped it upon the table with an expression as if something filthy had been rubbed upon the hilt.

The Praetor pushed her hands into the pile of weapons and started pulling similar swords out of the pile. Reyna paused for a moment to place two of these swords next to each other and then pushed them away, seemingly even more disgusted than before.

Several other centurions in the meanwhile imitated Reyna's actions whilst the others watched without so much as showing a sign of comprehension.

It wasn't long before the officers had been separated into two groups. The first seemed just as disgusted as Reyna, whilst the others seemed to wonder about the sudden anger of their colleagues.

It was Octavian who spoke up the first for this last group, something for which he instantly was rewarded by a number of grateful gazes.

"What's wrong with these swords that has angered you so?" Octavian asked Reyna. "Are they poisoned or so?"

"These...are...no...swords!" Growled Reyna upon a tone as if the weapons had been used for some of the most heinous crimes in the history of humans and Demigods.

"What these are..." She whispered, "are abominations."

She took a deep breath and waited for a couple of moments to calm down. "These are backswords by design. A single edge with a blunt backside for greater firmness. The tip of the blade is asymmetrical which will make it not so much stab into a body as it will get sucked into the flesh when subjected to a thrust. The balance of the weapon is remarkably low, just above the hilt. This makes it incredibly easy to wield, even if it is not that light. Furthermore the length of the weapon will allow its wielder to remain at a safe distance from his opponents."

"These are not bad traits." Reyna admitted, although that seemed to have no effect upon the poison in her voice. "However it is a comitédesign and a very poor one at that."

"What else makes it so bad that you almost seem to hate it?" Octavian asked her.

"It is not just a poor sword." Whitfield muttered, before the boy glared at the weapon and even spat at the naked blade from one of these. "It is what they represent."

These words only seemed to confuse Octavian and the others more.

Reyna sighed. "Swordsmanship is a slow and difficult process, even the most basic skills can only be acquired after months or years of training." She explained. "It will take ages of devotion and self-disciple. This blade can be taught in a matter of weeks."

For a moment Octavian seemed eager to speak up, then he remembered that Reyna and the other centurions would not be so disgusted with it, if a poor design and easy training were the foremost vices of the blade.

"However whatever skills it gives are treacherous ones." Reyna continued. "As easy it is to train with, so difficult would it be to best a decent blade. It is easy to control but it is predictable and easy to take control of, the blade is not that light but easily slapped aside, the tip is sharp but is bound to penetrate too deep in the flesh and is useless against all but the lightest armour. Furthermore despite its weight it has a poor cutting edge."

"What it does is give you an overestimated impression of your own skill, which will fail to hold up against anyone who is even slightly deserving of the title swordsman." Reyna muttered viciously before sighing. "This is not a weapon you give to warriors whom you want to give a chance to survive." She concluded." This is a weapon you dole out to a bunch of untrained peasants in the hope they'll be brave enough to hold their ground for a bit and might draw some blood."

"Then what are they doing?" Asked Drew. "You make it sound as if they're trying to subject themselves to a genocide?"

Reyna grinded her teeth together. "I don't know. Even Saturn did not make them commit themselves to such a madness."

"On the other hand," Octavian interjected, "considering the amount of these weapons, their creation must have started at the latest midway the War against the Titans."

"What is the impression you have?" Reyna asked some of the centurions, allowing her gaze to linger for a few moments upon Persephone and Whitfield. "Are they simply attempting to commit mass suicide or do they have an actual goal?"

It was Whitfield who spoke up first. "They're not eager to die," He said. "They fight hard and well, if it wasn't for the bloodprice the latest battles have extracted from their ranks, I'd be inclined to say that they're simply testing their volunteers and culling the fat from their armies."

He turned his head towards Persephone for a moment, expecting her to support his opinion.

Persephone paused for a moment and sighed deep.

"I don't know." Persephone said. "I don't think Whitfield is wrong except in one regard."

She sighed once more. "They seem far too eager to risk their lives."

"What do you mean, Persephone?" Reyna asked her, not understanding that remark.

"I am not certain myself." Persephone whispered. "The monsters seemed to recover far faster from their fear than I am used to."

"Faster as in?" Reyna asked her curiously.

"Like I said, I am not certain." Persephone muttered. "Frightening them was easy enough, but there was always another monster who was willing to take the lead, no matter what would happen to him or her."

"Almost as if their fear was dulled by something or someone during the battle." Persephone whispered, this time sounding more thoughtful than beaten.

"I have heard some monsters know how to charmspeak." Drew suggested. "Even a single one of these monsters could have influenced a few other monsters, making them act like Persephone just described."

"Perhaps," Persephone admitted before interjecting, "but I never heard charmspeaking during the battle."

"Maybe lotus or something similar." Another demigod suggested. "Junks would do anything for their next shot."

"Maybe," Reyna admitted. "But I doubt anyone could be so desperate he sends a bunch of junks into battle when he has the means to fuel such an addiction."

The gathered demigods sighed. Each of them felt incredibly frustrated.

Apart from a few rather isolated cases, the actual battles between monsters and demigods had always been fought between well-trained legionaries and the most aggressive and experienced members of the monster-species. Certainly, it had happened often enough during quests and upon raids that legionaries had been forced to be bloody their weapons against these less experienced, more reclusive members of those races. However, however having those same recluses or even "peaceful" members march to war in massive numbers, not even a year after the end of a bloody conflict against the Gods and Demigods?

Something had happened, something big and for some reason they were fumbling in the dark with only the barest of clues.

The conclusion which had been drawn by the discovery of these swords meant something but none of them really knew what. Still they could tell it was significant.

For almost a minute, none of them said a thing and perhaps they would have remained like that for longer, however, for the first time since the start of the meeting, fate decided to show them some kindness.

Outside of the building a massive racket had suddenly awoken.

Between the walls of the building each of the centurions, the praetor and her praetorians drew their swords without so much as a second of hesitation.

The near disaster from earlier had left each of them anxious for the discovery of another disaster.

Still they stood up and sprinted to the doors.

"If we're lucky," muttered Drew whilst running next to Persephone, "they're just pelting that traitor with garbage."

Persephone's lips curled themselves slightly before storming past the doors.

Outside there was a mob alright, but it was not an angry one.

It seemed that once the first rumours had spread through the city about the attack and Lawrence's betrayal, people from all over the city had gathered around the building with the hope for information.

But it was not that desire for information which had caused the clamour.

At the entrance of one of the nearby streets, at a crossing with a road which led to one of the larger civilian stables a second, smaller mob had gathered and it were these people who were crying out in a mixture of amusement, anger and fear.

The crowd of Demigods there had blocked of the other accesses of the street, like four walls from human flesh... or in this case, a corral might be a better description.

In the open space between those civilians, a half dozen legionaries were locked in desperate and seemingly losing battle with a large, mud-stained horse, a Pegasus whose skin was the colour of midnight.

"What in the world?" Whispered Persephone in disbelief before charging right at the animal, pushing and shoving everyone in her path away.

Blackjack in the meanwhile neighed loudly, four lassos had been thrown around his neck and the horse stood upon his hind legs whilst beating his massive wings with so much strength it seemed that he intended to blow the legionaries away rather than simply taking off.

The Demigods in the meanwhile screamed and shouted, whilst pulling at the ropes with as much strength as they could.

The six demigods were baffled by the sudden shift in the mood of the horse which had seemed rather docile earlier.

Then one of the demigods lost his hold upon his rope and this was instantly followed by the next, until even the last two which had been held by a pair of demigods each were torn from their hands.

Blackjack neighed triumphantly and charged forward, not just pushed forward by the strength of his legs as well as by the beating of his wings which made the crowd part before him.

Only a single Demigoddess refused and in reply the horse spread his wing and reared up just before her, stopping with a suddenness that would have given most human riders at least a minor case of whiplash.

The moment Blackjacks hooves reached the ground again, he felt her first arm gently wrap itself around his neck whilst her second hand brushed his forehead gently.

"Hey Blackjack," Whispered Persephone, "I am so glad you have found me again."

* * *

"What did just happen?" Asked one of the Demigods who had tried to keep the horse contained, which was without a doubt the question which most of the bystanders were likewise asking themselves.

Persephone ignored them for the moment, instead she focused upon brushing her hand over Blackjacks head and neck, whilst whispering softly to him.

One of the legionaries made the mistake of reaching for one of the ropes which was still dangling from around the Pegasus's neck and instantly received a warning which existed out of the bared teeth and matching glares from both the horse and his usual rider, as well as the threatening scraping from the horse's hooves against the ground.

In the end it was Reyna, the only other owner of a Pegasus, who dared to intervene.

"I guess he's yours." Reyna asked Persephone whilst taking in the view.

"He's a free Pegasus, nobody owns him." Persephone interjected, before smiling for a moment and brushing her fingers through his forelock. "But Blackjack allows me ride him."

Persephone chuckled whilst alternating her eyes from Blackjack to Reyna and back again.

"This boy is rightfully known as the wildest, most aggressive and least tameable of his entire species." Persephone announced proudly. "Last time somebody tried, he half destroyed the stables upon that ship before I had the chance to break him out and set off into the sunset."

"Do I even want to know why a ship had a stable?" Reyna wondered out loud.

Persephone chuckled. "I believe I asked the same question at the time."

Reyna stared at both for a moment, then the girl shrugged. "Remind me to discuss the story of Scipio with you." she muttered.

Then Reyna shook her head. "Take him to Scipio's stable." She ordered Persephone. "It is one of the smaller buildings, directly behind the senate. You'll find everything you need to take care of him there."

Persephone nodded gratefully at Reyna for a moment before returning her attention back to Blackjack.

Most of the people around the pair seemed to remember Persephone's earlier words and took a step backwards, making it far easier for the two of them to pass through the mass.

Still Reyna couldn't help but wonder about how much the horse had understood from Persephone's words. When the parting of the crowd seemed to slow down, the Pegasus reared up for a moment and extended his wings to their full length. Faced with the unshod, but flailing hooves which would easily be strong enough to cave in a helmeted warrior's skull and wings which surpassed a condor's in size, the crowd freed the paved streets in no time. After that, Blackjack threw his head back and whinnied loudly and in such a way that it almost sounded like human laughter.

Persephone shook her head in return and muttered something about him being lucky that she couldn't understand his back talking.

After that spectacle, most of the crowd dispersed again whilst the remaining representatives of the cohorts returned to finish their last affaires.

This meant it took only a little time before Reyna left the building again and this time she went straight for Scipio's stables.

* * *

These stables were a rather square building which, just like she had told Persephone, was rather small making it unlikely that it had ever sheltered more than two or three animals. At some earlier time this had been a home from citizens, but eventually it had fallen in disrepair. One of her predecessors had then used the opportunity to buy it and turn it into a stable which was exclusively used by the animals of the Praetors. Small as it might be though, it was dry and sturdy but more importantly, the building had direct access to a long and straight road which was wide enough for a Pegasus to land or take off again.

Reyna herself had often used this road to her advantage so she could spare herself the travel past the Field of Mars and the mad throng which were the city's streets.

Reyna paused for a moment and knocked loudly upon the door before entering, not wanting to start this conversation upon the same awkward note as her first conversation with Persephone in a stable.

Fortunately, whilst Persephone was obviously fully focussed upon her horse she was aware of Reyna's arrival.

Said centurion now stood next to Blackjack whilst carefully brushing a white piece of cloth against the side of the horse's flank.

Persephone seemed to check the cloth for a moment and then dropped it in a nearby bucket.

"Pass another bucket with water." Persephone told her whilst taking a new piece of clean cloth.

Reyna nodded instinctively before tiptoeing and reaching for one of the empty buckets which stood upon a plank against the rear wall of the building.

For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder whether Persephone only had three buckets standing with her due to the height of the shelf.

Then that thought disappeared again and she kicked the first bucket towards the tap whilst tiptoeing again and reaching for the second one.

It didn't took long before she had both buckets filled and carried them towards Persephone who accepted them eagerly.

Between her own arrival and Reyna's, Persephone had removed all her armour and this, in combination with her attention to the wounds of her horse revealed to Reyna that the centurion hadn't escaped her earlier battle without some injuries of her own.

The most obvious of these were upon her arms, here her older scars were accompanied by a few new, thin red lines which went crisscross all over her skin, showing clearly that whilst those swords might be unable to pierce mail, leather alone would be no certain protection against them.

However, far more numerous than these scratches were the dark blotches of bruises which had only just started to appear.

Less obvious was the fact Persephone now seemed to favour her left-leg.

Reyna could only wonder how many more signs of just that latest battle were hidden underneath the girl's shirt and pants.

Blackjack was not exactly looking that much better though.

Whereas most of his own injuries had been hidden under a layer of dirt and mud, now that water had removed the most of these, the wounds had become painfully obvious.

Reyna instantly detected several thick lines upon his flank where the blood had crusted to stop the bleeding. These wounds, Reyna guessed, were maybe a few days old, however the greater magnitude of the wounds upon his body looked far fresher, at most a couple of hours old and she suspected that it would be better to guess at the minutes rather than the hours which had passed since they had been inflicted.

However Reyna also noticed the state of saddle and the heavy cloth which usually would have covered his back, both had been thrown to the side, seemingly in a fit of anger. Both likewise showed signs of an attack by talons, but curiously also showed marks from what looked like some especially heavy, but small tipped arrows which seemed to have been shot at the Pegasus from above.

"He was in the forest during the attack?" Reyna asked Persephone, almost certain about the answer being a yes.

"He was looking for me and almost found me upon his own." Persephone said. "I suspect he found the monsters first."

Persephone paused for a moment and brushed her hand gently through Blackjacks manes.

"According to the tracks he went straight for the Camp until he crossed paths with some of the centaurs." She said. "I wonder what he tried to do, lure them away from me and the Camp or simply find a place to ambush them."

"You honestly think he would attempt to attack several centaurs?" Reyna asked Persephone in surprise.

Persephone chuckled in return. "I know he would."

"I guess animals do tend take over characteristics from their ..." Remembering Persephone's earlier remark Reyna paused for a moment, as if to emphasise that she only used that word because she couldn't come up with a better alternative, "owner."

Again Blackjack seemed to make a sound that could have been meant to imitate a human's laughing.

Reyna narrowed her eyes for a moment before mumbling mock-upset; "I don't think the world can handle two of you."

This caused another laughter-like neighing from Blackjack as well as an actual laugh from Persephone.

"How long will it take him to heal?" asked Reyna whilst walking towards the two, "Or you for the matter?"

"Half a day at most." Said Persephone in reply before brushing one finger over the red lines upon her right arm. "As for my wounds, they're not worth mentioning."

Reyna stared at her for a moment and placed two fingers upon Persephone's arm and then gently imitated Persephone's earlier motion.

She smiled for a single moment, then her expression lost that gentleness. "Will you repeat those words after I give you a friendly pat upon the back?" Reyna asked Persephone, with some obvious annoyance.

The centurion stifled for a moment. "Erhh, yeah." She said, although without much confidence.

Reyna raised her arm as if in preparation of such a friendly pat.

She could see Persephone tense her muscles and sighed whilst lowering arm again.

"What are you planning to do about the mess which that bastard left behind?" Reyna asked Persephone.

For a moment, Persephone did nothing, then a veritable growl escaped her lips and she kicked one of the already empty buckets against the wall.

"What?" Reyna asked her whilst the other teenager crossed her arms against her chest.

"Look into the saddlebags." Persephone snarled.

Reyna frowned for a moment and it was only due to the fact that she knew that Persephone's anger was not aimed at her that she did not snarl back.

The praetor pushed one arm down the bag and found a piece of paper that had been crumbled into a ball.

Reyna grabbed the paper and attempted to uncrumble it whilst Persephone turned her face to the wall against which she had kicked the bucket. Reyna did not miss that Persephone seemed to be breathing rather heavily.

 _Hello, my dear,_

 _It has been a long time since we last saw each other, has it not? Juno did an excellent job in hiding your trail. However, she can't hide your feelings anymore from me, than you can shield your dreams._

 _I can't say I agree with every part of your mother's plans, but I admit, so far it seems they're the only plans there are._

 _However nothing of your mother's plans will come to pass if she stays kidnapped._

 _I know you're worrying about her, just like you're worrying about Jason and you're right._

 _They need your help!_

 _That's why I steered Blackjack to you, just like all those years ago._

 _Jason and his companions (which includes Piper, one of my daughters!) are in great danger. Help them, please!_

 _They can save your mother whilst you lack the powers for that, but this is not a mere monster and they will need you._

 _Blackjack knows the way, but you have to leave tomorrow and be prepared for a long flight._

 _I am honestly sorry to ask this of you, but I know you wouldn't abandon one of your friends (let alone your mother) if you could help it._

 _P.S. You stand a chance, it won't be easy but you have a chance so take the shot!_

Reyna stared at the piece of paper.

There was no name and Reyna wasted a few moment to look for an envelope which might have given an indication of the sender.

"It was Venus who wrote this." Whispered Persephone still standing there with her back to Reyna as if she had been petrified.

"This the second time she sends Blackjack to me," The Daughter of Juno continued. "She mentioned my dreams and feelings as well at that time."

"Persephone?" asked Reyna.

"There hasn't passed so much as a single minute in which I did not beseeched the fates and Apollo to send me a sign or prophecy about my mother, a way to contact her, to find her." Persephone whispered whilst she kept staring at the wall.

"Persephone?" Reyna repeated whilst moving in closer.

"And yet, here it is and I can't help but ask, why now?" Persephone whispered. "

Reyna stepped past the centurion and turned her head.

It was only then that she noticed that Persephone was no longer crossing her arms, she was hugging herself.

Reyna hesitated for a second, she saw Persephone raise her head up and looked the Praetor in the eyes.

The Praetor took another step forward and then, as if made to do so by a supernatural force, she tripped and stumbled forward, making her instinctively extend her arms to break her fall.

However before that the Praetor even came halfway the straw-covered floor, another pair of arms caught her.

The next moment Persephone had her own body firmly pressed against Reyna's cuirass.

Reyna hesitation took no more than a second and she wrapped her own arms around Persephone who seemed intend to bury her head into the folds of the purple cloak which covered Reyna's shoulder.

This could have been an awkward moment, especially so if Persephone would have realised how she had misinterpreted the reason of Reyna's extended arms. But the teenager was too caught up in the warmth she was feeling.

Reyna on the other hand was no less happy, the teenager had her own flaws and at this moment she was uncomfortably aware that at least to some extend she had actually become the mask of the cold, unfeeling "toughest girl of the camp", however she was not so far gone that she did not realise that this hug was most likely the best answer upon Persephone's outburst.

She'd leave a small offering for whatever deity had given her this opportunity tonight.

The two stood there for another while, no other witness for Persephone little breakdown and Reyna's support than Blackjack.

"It isn't fair." Whispered Persephone eventually. "We worked so hard and then the moment it seems we've succeeded this happens."

"You did far more than anyone, including me, could have expected you to do." Reyna whispered in return and without loosening her grip upon Persephone.

"But what will you do now?" Reyna asked her.

"I can't abandon Jason or my mother now, can I." Persephone muttered, sounding almost sickened. "So I'll have to sacrifice the spirit of my own cohort in exchange for their survival."

Reyna sighed, but she couldn't help to feel relieved with that knowledge.

"I can accompany you on Scipio." Reyna suggested. "

Persephone shook her head in return, when she spoke up, she sounded honestly disappointed. "You know they'll need you here." Persephone whispered, "Especially with only Tartarus knows how many monsters at the metaphorical gates."

Reyna nodded, looking furious and for a moment a cruel smirk played up on Persephone's face.

With Reyna's mood, she could tell the monsters were up for one battle that they would be remembering for a long time.

Then she rested her head again upon Reyna's shoulder.

"I am so tired of this, Reyna." Persephone whispered. "So tired of always being the hero or the saviour. So tired of this eternal war, which seems only to pick up and never to die down."

"All I wanted was being remembered for something other than being the Monster slayer or even Saturn's bane."

Persephone sighed. "Can you protect the Fifth from the outfall of this disaster?" Persephone asked her. "Because I know I won't be able to do so."

"The Eight will temporary return to the camp to reinforce the border." Reyna told her whilst slowly removing her arms from around Persephone. "The Fifth will fill the gap in the wider environment. Keeping them miles away from the camp and whatever might happen here. Or they'll do so if you believe them capable of surviving."

"They are, Reyna. Thank you for that." Whispered Persephone.

That's just my duty." Reyna replied, a response that was far brusquer than how she had intended it to.

Reyna hesitated for another moment, then she grabbed the fingers from Persephone's hand with both her hands.

"Just.." Reyna started, "about the troubles. My sister told me the Amazons have a proverb that might be suitable for the situation."

"ooh, and which one might that be."

"She claimed," Reyna continued and this point Persephone could actually see Reyna's cheeks darkening. "that an arrow can only be shot after being pulled backwards."

"It implies," Reyna explained, "that when Life seems to drag you backwards it is simply preparing to launch you into something great."

There was a noticeable tug at the corner of Persephone's lips after those words.

"I think, I am going to gather my stuff and get some sleep before I leave." whispered Persephone eventually.

She turned towards the exit and took a first step before pausing and turning back around again.

Reyna felt the tip of Persephone's fingers upon her left-cheek, it was a hesitant but caressing motion of which the gentle pressure made Reyna turn her head to the side.

Reyna caught a glimpse of a small smile upon Persephone's lips when the teenager stepped past her whilst retaining her hold of Reyna's left-cheek.

A moment later, a pair of soft lips had been pressed against Reyna's cheek.

"That's for your kindness." Whispered Persephone at Reyna before turning around again and walking to the exit. "Thank you."

Persephone knew she was being stupid.

She was no longer a fifteen years old teenager whose head was filled with all those nonsensical ideas about how a kiss should be. What she actually was veteran of a war and numerous smaller battles whose heart had already been broken once, who was actually taking her first steps towards another war, again!

Still, there was a smile upon her lips and the journey back to the encampment wasn't long enough to wipe it from her face before entering.

* * *

 **As always, all reviews are appreciated.**

 **And for those who want to know:**

 **Fulcum: I know, it is technically speaking a Byzantine formation. However considering the Byzantines supposedly always called themselves Romans rather than Greeks that should be no problem (there is at least one know instance of a Frankish messenger referring to the Byzantine emperor as the "king of the Greeks", let it be sufficient to say that he failed to complete his job in a spectacular fashion). Apart from that bit of historical context, when did the Romans ever hesitate to adopt useful tools, weapons, formations, ... from the Greeks, Celts, Germans, Carthaginians, ... ?**

 **Pila iace: launch pila**

 **Opugnare: attack!**


	12. Chapter 12

**First and foremost a triple warning. I have uploaded chapter 10 at 5/6/2017, however at the time Fanfiction suffered from some issues and was therefore unable to send a notification. Those of you who were unaware of that might want to return to the previous chapter before starting to read these chapters.**

 **Secondly, there is no mistake made. I did indeed upload two chapters from Daughter of Juno. I am not going to make this a habit though, this is mostly caused because I had originally intended these two chapters to form only a single chapter. Yeah, I admit I misjudged the seize this part of the story would get.**

 **Lastly each of these three chapters counts over 18 000 words, so be warned you'll need several hours if you're going to read them in succession.**

 **Furthermore some of you have asked me when I upload another chapter from Bound by Blood, (with good reason, the third chapter has been dragging it's feet for way to long). At several times I have told these people I was working on it and occasional I even suggested that I was planning to release it relative soon. Whilst each of these replies was meant as a honest one, thus far I have failed to uphold these. This is because the story thus far has been literally haunted by bad luck. The worst of this was my accident (which might or might not be linked to a certain deity who is generally associated with equine animals and massive amounts of salt water) and the writers block which was followed by it. However unfortunately, whilst certainly the most serious of the problems it was not the only. For some reason whenever I open the doc with the story, smaller problems keep turning up to the point that they're driving me paranoid. Is anyone aware of some kind of vampire-deity who might desire appeasement before He/ she allows the writing of fanfiction which her species? (if there is, I might be willing to offer said deity a minor role as bribe/reward in exchange for stopping the sabotage.)**

 **Sincerely though if the power disappears three times upon a single day and every time just after I open that document I reserve the right to become suspicious (and bloody annoyed).**

 **Finally. I'll admit I own my beta, Lord Protector Corvo Attano, some mentioning for his tireless efforts in pre-reading and checking for gramatical and otherwise errors. Sincerely though, thank you.**

 **What I do not own is the Percy Jackson-series and all related works. So unless I missed Riordan announcing the shift in ownership, I still don't own a thing.**

* * *

It had been almost two days since Persephone had left the camp when Blackjack touched down in Chicago.

It was an uncomfortable reminder of why she had always felt the desire to apply blunt force to someone's head whenever they claimed she was lucky for going upon a quest.

Sincerely, she loved riding Blackjack but after riding him for almost forty hours, with barely more than four hours sleep a night, she was wishing she had taught Blackjack to pull a chariot.

So apart from feeling sore and tired, she was hungry and the closest she had come to bathing had involved flying through a cloud, which had left her cold for a while as well.

Furthermore, that bath hadn't been as effective as it had been uncomfortable, she reeked!

If only her current scent would be enough to dissuade the monsters from attempting to eat her.

Still, Persephone knew better than waste her time with complaining to herself or Blackjack about the unfairness of it all. She was a far more practical girl than that.

Practical as in she stepped into the lobby of the nearest hotel, took the elevator up and used the Mist to persuade one of the cleaners to open the room with the most luxurious bathroom whilst persuading the girl to leave the cleaning of said bathroom for last.

Unsurprisingly, she was in far better mood when she left the hotel again.

The same could be said about Blackjack after she had picked him up from the hotel's kitchens.

She would never understand how the hotel staff could have missed the large, pitch-black Pegasus standing in the middle of their kitchen where he plundered line after line of doughnuts and other pastries. It was however a memory she would treasure, if only she could have had a cell phone to immortalize it in a picture.

Following Blackjack, Persephone made her way to the so-called Grand Park, something which sounded far better than desolate wasteland of ice, snow and salted roads. Not that it actually looked better than that.

Curiously Persephone noticed several storm spirits or Venti whirling all over the park. None of the spirits seemed to do any actual damage, but it was equally obvious that they weren't being careful either.

More importantly though, Persephone noticed that at least a pair of them kept hanging around an empty fountain.

Both Demigoddess and Pegasus halted the moment they recognised the beings.

Persephone knew she hadn't fought one of these beings before which made it rather unlikely they would know who she was or carry a grudge against her. She knew however that they had been created by Typhon and thus far none of his children had ever done anything but attempt to kill her by biting, squashing, poisoning, burning or otherwise finishing her off in some nasty way.

Apart from that, she could also recall that these spirits could only be killed by a limited number of metals, chief among them: Imperial Gold and Stygian Iron.

In response to that she instinctively reached to her side where her hand touched the uncomfortable cold blade of her climbing axe.

Persephone paused for a moment, then a third Ventus came up from the fountain and left in the north direction.

"I am going down that pipe, ain't I?" She asked Blackjack who nodded in return.

Persephone sighed. "Terrific." She muttered.

"Stay in the vicinity." She told Blackjack. "You'll hear it when I am in trouble."

The horse neighed in return, which made Persephone smile.

"You've done great as always, Blackjack." Persephone said whilst brushing her fingers through his forelock. "Make yourself comfortable, you've earned it."

Blackjack nodded and then opened his wings whilst flying away.

Persephone went straight for the centre of the pool and despite hovering around her, neither of the spirits attempted to stop her.

The climb was short and the air was surprisingly warm and dry, although she still felt a draught blowing south and when she brushed her hand over the walls she felt water trickling down.

Despite the lack of adornments upon the walls, she felt herself somewhat reminded to the Labyrinth.

It wasn't anything from the walls itself and after having walked for more than ten minutes she could tell that despite then number of twist and turns, there weren't any other sideways which could have confused her.

However she could tell there was hint of magic involved with the construction of these walls and that as a reason alone was enough to worry her. There were few magic-users who would have so much as a single reason to not attack her first sight.

After this though she rounded what turned out to be the final corner and found a pair of elevator doors from polished steel. Both of them were inscribed with a single cursive letter M.

It only took the time from a single heart before her swords rested in both of her fists.

"M." She whispered whilst recalling the last time she had seen a mythological being who had called herself such.

Medusa was supposed to be dead! She had killed that woman herself after she tried to turn her, Annabeth and Grover in a set of garden decorations. The last thing she heard about the head was that her mother (Sally) had thrown it into the Hudson after her unintentional creation of a valuable piece of art which had been formerly known as Smelly Gabe and his poker partners.

At the time she hadn't thought much about Medusa, except that she had been a threat to her and especially to Annabeth. Later, once she had started to do some actual research about possible future and already past enemies, that victory had gained an especially bad aftertaste.

Even if Medusa wasn't a rape victim like some of the stories claimed (and her own words made that seem rather unlikely) she still was quite obviously the main-victim of the story.

Persephone doubted she would ever stop feeling as if she had been manipulated into taking care of some loose end from Athena and Poseidon by those two.

She wouldn't deny the woman had become rather unhinged and most definitely had become a danger to everyone, but simultaneously there had been no reason to curse her or abandon her to that fate except for the pride of both deities.

Eventually Medusa would become one of the many arguments against the trust in her Father and so many other Olympians.

Still, Persephone had killed the Minotaur a couple of days before Medusa and that hadn't stopped him from reappearing before the Titan's War even had ended!

At the time, it had been assumed that his reappearance had been a coincidence, now it might seem that there was more going on.

Persephone took a deep breath and sighed again.

Then she looked at the directory, it seemed there were five levels.

The parking, Kennels and Main Entrance were at the Sewer Level.

Furnishings and Café M were at the first level.

There was a women's Fashion and Magical Appliances at the second level.

Men's Wear and Weaponry could be found at the Third Level.

And finally there were cosmetics, potions, poisons and sundries at the Fourth Level.

This was a massive extension from the Medusa's original, far more limited offer, more importantly though, there had been no specific mention of statues.

"How odd." muttered Persephone whilst slamming the hilt of Riptide against the top button of the elevator.

When the doors slid back open at the top a wave of perfume wafted into the elevator.

After the dull scents from earlier, the perfume felt especially sharp and succeeded in something which few monsters could claim, it made the Monster Slayer take a step backwards.

After that first moment, Persephone stepped out of the elevator and blinked for a moment in surprise before grabbing a hold of the golden railing. What she saw was most definitely not a part of Medusa's store.

Her first impression was that of a kaleidoscope. The entire ceiling seemed to be one big mosaic. It would have taken thousands of pieces of stained glass to form the giant sun and the astrological signs which adorned the ceiling and washed everything in so many variants of different colours.

The upper floors formed a ring of balconies around a much lower atrium. This gave Persephone a magnificent view upon all opposing floors and most of the ground floor.

Persephone failed to see any windows, doors or even stairs. All she did see was a pair of glass elevators which ran between the different levels.

For now Persephone decided to ignore the racks with merchandise which seemed to contain the usual mixture of cloths, weapons and the outrageously overpriced, magical fantasies.

Finally in the centre of the atrium stood a massive fountain which was decorated with four cages instead of a statue. The first tree cages stood at a lower level of the fountain and seemed to have been set up like a triangle and were shaking as if they contained a veritable storm.

"Gods." Whispered Persephone. "Only the Fates know how many Venti are locked into those cages."

She sighed. "If those ever break free..."

She shuddered.

Then she fixed her gaze upon the remaining cage which dominated the centre of the fountain, as if what had been set in there somehow deserved the place of honour.

Inside of this cage stood a short, buff looking faun or satyr who wore a bright orange polo-shirt and a baseball cap with matching bat.

"Now that's the gall I know." Persephone whispered whilst staring at the frozen satyr.

Then she caught a glimpse of the reflection of a woman in the balustrade.

"May I help you with something?" Asked an accented, female voice from behind her.

In a slightly different situation, Persephone's first reflex would have been to whirl around and extend her sword arm, thus decapitating everything within reach from her sword, whilst keeping her eyes closed.

Fortunately for the woman, her reflexion in the gold had shown no snakes, wings, claws or anything which made her gorgon-like and thus Persephone wasn't as eager to follow her first impulse through.

The woman in front of her appeared cold, haughty and harsh in a way that gave the impression her features had been carved from stone. It was obvious that once, the woman had been an extraordinary beauty and even if she hadn't been able to withstand the power of time and age, somehow these two had lost most of their edges in their battle with her.

She reminded Persephone strongly to most of the statues and pictures which had been crafted in her mother's image. The woman most definitely resembled Hera and Juno in the regard of her domain as the Queen of Olympus, but whereas the harshness of the features of Goddess had been softened by her kindness and love, this woman lacked even the slightest hint of that characteristic.

If anything she reminded Persephone more to a hawk turned human, an impression which was not helped by her long, red-painted nails which made her fingers resemble talons, than either of her mother figures.

The woman stared at Persephone in return.

What she saw would have seemed no less pleasing to the eyes of most people than herself. Persephone was a rather small and almost lithe looking girl in her late teens with a dancer-like build, and her appearance alone made her suitable of her position as the adopted daughter of one of three Goddesses who had been deemed the most beautiful of all immortals.

However despite this seemingly fleeting impression, something instantly told her that even as a model, she was far more belonging to an appearance as the centrefold from a magazine called "Soldiers of Fortune" then a position upon a catwalk.

The centurion wore an old looking blue jeans which were torn in several places and belt with a demon-like skull. Her shirt was only half visible due to the open leather jacket, but it was black and adorned with the picture of a wolf-like rune in metallic grey.

Lastly her shoes were heavy looking mountaineering boots which were covered with dirt and incidentally, these were the only articles of clothing which had remained from before her bath.

Despite all the exercises in the sun over the past months, Persephone's skin had retained the alabaster tone it had gained when Juno adopted her.

Her hair was black like a cascade of ink and had grown over the past months until it reached just past her breasts where the still damp hair had left a trail of moist upon the brown leather of her aviatrix jacket.

Finally her eyes which, like her mother's, had quickly become a characteristic attribute of her appearance, had the dark brown colour of molten chocolate and were extraordinary suited to give an impression of kindness and intelligence. However currently those last words would be far from anyone's mind who would attempt to describe her.

Because despite this obvious kindness, there was an at least equal amount of harshness and anger inside of her which made that impression she did give was that of a predator held back by a string which was about to break.

And whatever danger the newly arrived woman might have possessed, without a visible weapon and wearing an elegant looking black dress with matching heels and diamond jewellery, she was definitely not looking as if she would be able to match Persephone's fury if that string broke.

Considering the lowering of her gazing and the pacifying gesture of her hands, the woman had reached a similar conclusion.

"I am always happy to see a new customer in my store." She said with an accented voice. "How can I help you?"

"Your store?" Persephone asked her, almost seeming to questioning that.

"M is my store." She confirmed with a brilliant smile. "Who else's could it have been?"

Persephone cocked her head for a moment. "Medusa's, Monocle Motor's, Macy's..." she replied upon such a dry tone that it wasn't clear whether she was jesting or not.

For a moment the woman frowned and Persephone noticed her narrowing her eyes.

"Clearly it isn't." She said in return. "Was that why you came in with drawn blades?"

"Some people don't know the difference between good business and a good meal or new articles for their store." Persephone replied with a shrug.

"I see..." the woman said, not sounding to surprised or worried about the warning in Persephone's words."

"Fortunately for us both, I do." She continued. "Once upon a time I was a Princess and a ruler, nowadays I am no more than a humble saleswoman, still call me Your Highness and please, tell me what you are looking for?"

Persephone's eyes narrowed at her mention of being a Princess and a ruler, something which did not go unnoticed by the former Princess.

The absence of the title queen did not go unnoticed by Persephone either but there had been a massive number of Princesses who at some point had ended up as rulers without ever being named a queen throughout history and mythology, so that made her hardly unusual.

However the combination with magic and (considering the ceiling) the connection with the sun, did push a single candidate for her identity to the forefront. Persephone hoped she was wrong, that like in so many other cases there had simply been a witch employed to enchant the store and that the ceiling simply was a curiosity, because if it wasn't then she had just confronted Medea, one of the most dangerous witches of the Greek civilisation.

Persephone refused to show this hint of fear and curled her lips into a small smirk instead.

"Names have power, hm?" She whispered before chuckling. "Then please, call me Eve L. Duerh, Your Highness."

"Eve L. Duerh?" The Princess repeated sounding rather confused whilst raising a single eyebrow.

Persephone chuckled again before performing a flourish bow. "I graduated from the academy of evil with full honours whereafter I was a participant in the struggle to conquer the Olympus, I exercised a career as vicious raider and currently I am aspiring an appointment as dark champion and puncher of kittens."

"That is one way to talk about... Chiron's kindergarten and the Titan Wars." The Princess replied.

"But wouldn't it be much more practical to kick kittens?" She continued whilst staring at Persephone or Eve L. Duerh, like she had just introduced herself.

Persephone gave her another smile, but this one was obviously at the expense of the saleswoman.

"I am missing another kind of joke, is it not?" asked the Princess.

Persephone chuckled loudly and nodded. "Just keep thinking about it." she said. "Puncher of kittens, you'll come up with the answer, eventually."

"Why are you here?" asked the Princess and this time her voice was cold and businesslike.

It was obvious to Persephone that the Princess did not like feeling as if someone made fun of her, which suited Persephone rather well, since she had absolutely no need to keep a saleswoman who might be a witch around her. Simultaneously though, she had absolutely enjoyed the opportunity of having free reign to annoy people again.

"The reason I am here?" Persephone repeated whilst retaining a hint of a smile, although now she attempted to appear far more serious than earlier.

"An Empousae, Helen mentioned your store to me." Persephone told her, before pausing for a moment.

She recalled the image of a ship which Juno had shown her after Jason's disappearance and continued.

"I've heard a rumour about Chiron's kindergarteners prepping a warship." Persephone said. "I need something to make it a part of Atlantis."

The Princess raised a single eyebrow again. "Siege engines and other blunt tools are the speciality of Monocle Motors." She replied. "I have no need for such blunt, tasteless objects."

Persephone shrugged in return. "If I wanted to be obvious I would've gone to them." She said.

The teenager smirked for a moment. "I was thinking a bit of subtlety would go a far longer distance."

She paused for a moment. "As in a certain amount of an acid at a certain point of a ship which causes an unfortunate malfunction at an inopportune timing."

Now the Princess did smile a bit. "And what on earth gives you the impression that I could supply you with those acids?" She asked.

Persephone rapped her knuckles against the plaque, the Princess noticed she had targeted the word poisons.

"I see you do have an idea of what you're looking for." The Princess told her.

"I do wonder, why do you still decide to attack the other Demigods?" She asked Persephone.

"Because the more intelligent monsters know better than aggravate every demigod or demigoddess they see and they know that their gold weighs heavier in our pockets than the gratitude of a God or Goddess." Persephone replied with an obvious disdain that wasn't faked. Most of the Gods had a lot to answer for to their children and this attitude was just one of the many mistakes they had made.

"Besides," Persephone continued, rehearsing an answer she had heard plenty of times from those Demigods who had fought for the Titans. "They might be sort of cousins, that doesn't make them my family."

"As if family is that much more reliable." Muttered the Princess with some obvious disdain in her voice.

If Persephone had any doubts about her being actual royalty, that remark settled them.

The next half hour made one thing absolutely clear to the girl, this Princess had an obsession with poisons to the point that if it hadn't been for her earlier suspicion, Persephone would have thought the woman's real name was Lucrezia Borgia.

Simultaneously, Persephone was feeling more than a little bit offended for the Princess's disregard for the healing aspect of her business. Yes, everyone had their own interest and obsessions and Persephone happened to be enamoured with healing, despite not being blessed with a great talent in this regard. That the Princess had such a talent and seemed to disregard it utterly, was rather galling to Persephone.

However she suspected that even without such an interest in healing, most people wouldn't exactly feel comfortable with a woman who such an obvious obsession with poisons.

Still Persephone refrained from touching, let alone trying out any of the wares despite the urgings of the woman.

Perhaps if, back at Camp Halfblood, Persephone hadn't seen a girl getting burned because she made the mistake of wearing a T-shirt, she wouldn't be edging the border of paranoia.

But she had and considering the owner of the store had an obvious obsession with poisons, she suspected that the label of perfect awareness was a far better description for her current state of mind.

Then Persephone heard a soft shimming sound and she noticed the woman turning her head around, pointing it in the direction of the elevator.

"More clients I am afraid." She said whilst sounding not that displeased at all.

Persephone simply nodded whilst checking the list with effects from another acid. _Burns everything organic which it touches for the period of an hour whilst leaving inorganic material undamaged._

The teenager shook her head whilst the Princess walked away from her.

"The Gods better have a damn fine excuse for not sending a lightning bolt down the moment that bitch set this store up." Persephone thought before sighing. "Guess that will be my job."

Persephone waited until she was certain the woman was far enough away before she started to rearrange some of the poisons whilst utilising her swords like a pair of makeshift tongs.

Persephone suspected that particular precaution was unnecessary, but she really did not want to find herself mistaken. She liked using her hands, damn it!

When she was done, Persephone had hidden several poisons with the warning-label of inflammable or explosive behind the other flasks.

She hesitated for another moment, then in an impulse after recalling one of the other poisons which had been mentioned by the Princess, she scooped this one up with her backpack and closed it again.

Then she heard the Princess and her new customers approaching and quickly hid herself behind one of the other racks. If either of these caught a hint of her, she doubted they would dare to investigate. It wasn't as if anyone would find it strange that a client shopping for poison would make an attempt to not getting recognised.

* * *

From behind that rack, Persephone heard a familiar voice ask the Princess a question.

"So you're new to America?" Jason asked the Princess.

"I am ... new," the woman agreed. "I am the Princess of Colchis. My friends call me Your Highness. Now what are you looking for?"

Persephone took a deep breath and carefully placed one of her swords back down again. She slowly wrapped her second hand around the guard of Riptide. This would require a single, rapid slash which would end her life instantly, without giving her the chance to use a spell.

Her suspicion had been correct, it was Medea. She had entered the store of one of the most feared witches to ever walk the earth. Back in Camp Half-blood there had been at least a thousand stories about her, some were invented and some were centuries old, many had conflicted with each other, but all of them had agreed upon one thing: nobody, and they meant absolutely nobody had ever ended up becoming better from Medea's help. Every single one of the stories about her, even the ones which spoke of her intelligence and affection for the original Jason were rife with betrayal of trust, backstabbing and selfishness.

There were only two things that stopped her from attacking Medea right away. The first was the sceptre which the witch had grasped in her absence. This was an elegant ivory staff of which the top was adorned with a perfume bottle-like shape in the same material. However it was not the actual head which had drawn her attention. It were the teeth which surrounded the head which worried her. She was still too far off to be certain, but Medea had been one of the names she had feared above the others and she knew the stories about her by heart. If she remembered correctly Medea was carrying army with her!

However apart from that danger, there was Jason's next request.

"Actually, Your Highness... that's our friend down there, Gleeson Hedge. The satyr. Could we... have him back, please?"

"Hedge?" whispered Persephone in surprise, only barely keeping herself from being heard. "That bitch has the old bat?"

She repressed the urge to swear and lowered her sword again whilst pressing herself back against the rack which hid her.

In the meanwhile, unaware of Persephone's sudden worries, the Princess agreed with Jason's request.

"Of course!" replied Medea instantly whilst her accent seemed to thicken and Persephone felt herself relax, reassured by the Princess's agreement.

"I would love to show you my inventory." Continued Medea with a rich and exotic voice. "But first, might I know your names?"

Persephone blinked after those words, feeling a sudden wariness prick through her earlier reassurance.

She vaguely recalled a warning about names and then she placed the nails from her left-hand upon the skin of her left-leg, just at the bottom of the biggest hole.

A moment later she pulled her hand upwards, dragging her nails through the skin with enough force to darken the tip of her nails with red.

Persephone repressed a groan and looked down at the scratch, when she looked up again, her eyes seemed ablaze with a dark fury.

Behind her, she heard Jason introduce the three of them, which told Persephone the third member from their little quest was named Leo.

However what she did not hear was Medea's immediate reply.

For a moment, Persephone wondered what kind of expression Medea would be wearing after hearing Jason name.

The next moment, her enjoyment dissipated. Unless she had severely misjudged Medea, she doubted that there was any chance of the witch letting the three of them go.

"Shall we start with the potions?" Medea asked them with a sweet voice.

* * *

Piper stared at the red vial after Medea had returned said vial with the healing potion to its original spot.

The girl was breathing heavily. Being confronted with charmspeaking came as shock to her. It was the first time she had been charmspoken and it was quite frankly a terrifying experience.

Before, when she had believed herself somewhat unique with this "gift", it had seemed merely strange to her, sometimes it was funny, sometimes it was an annoyance, but it had always been strange. Now it seemed no longer funny or even annoying, now it felt more like terrifying.

Before she had no idea what it felt like to be charmspoken, she had imagined it to feel like some kind of brainwashing, intrusive and easily noticed. Instead it had felt almost innocent, a mere suggestion or reminder of why she had wanted that vial earlier and how valuable it was. She had been willing to agree almost instantly and she had wanted to say yes, that she would have paid any price for that vial, if only the Princess would have sold it to her. Refusing to obey that impulse had made her feel ridiculous, as if she was some kind of hair-splitter or a killjoy.

And that was what she had done to others for years!

Even knowing she had no real control over that gift made her feel sick.

Suddenly so many little details from her childhood returned with full force. She had almost always been popular at school and at camps, at the start. However after a short while, people always started to edge away from her and talk behind her back. Had that indeed been due to racism, jealously and all those other petty reasons which her dad had blamed them on, or had those kids simply realised that the only way they could actually act like themselves was by keeping her away?

Piper sighed, suddenly all those "thefts" lost their last remains of funny.

Then she noticed the armed girl who had crept up from behind one of the nearby racks with poison.

Piper instinctively opened her mouth, but before she could even mutter the other girl had placed a single finger upon her own lips and beckoned her closer.

Piper hesitated for a moment and the girl nodded in the direction of the Princess before opening her jacket with a rather impatient motion.

This revealed the metallic grey wolf's head in all its glory against the black background which was not that much more reassuring actually. Piper than saw the girl grabbing the hem of said shirt, which seemed rather wide for her, before she pulled it up until just below her breasts. This revealed a much tighter, bright purple shirt which was further adorned with the picture of a golden wreath and the word SPQR.

Piper's eyes widened instantly in recognition of Jason's symbol and throwing a quick look behind at the Princess and the boys who seemed to have lost all reason in their desire to go shopping, she crossed the distance to the other girl.

"You're Piper, right?" Persephone asked her upon a hushed tone.

Piper nodded in return.

"How..." she started off before asking "Have we met before?"

Persephone shook her head. "Your mother mentioned your name and Jason in her letter to me." She replied. "The only one whose name I did not know was Leo."

"We'll have little time with Medea preparing to send the boys to their dead, so I'll get to business right away." Persephone muttered.

"Medea?" whispered Piper with the metaphorical pieces of the puzzle falling in their place.

Persephone nodded in return.

"Medea!" She repeated.

"So what the fuck happened to common sense for starters?" Persephone asked her.

"What?"

Persephone pinched the sleeve of Pipers shirt.

"Why are you three wearing your shirts in the open?" Persephone demanded to know. "Dressed like that you can't even pretend to work for the other side. You should know better, Jason does know better."

Persephone sighed and pinched her own nose for a second. "I know most monsters can smell us out like a bloodhound but with this they won't even have to come near you to find you. Forget fighting, they'll just plant an arrow in your back before you've even seen them."

Piper stared at her for a second, then she nodded. Truth to be told, she had no real reason to keep wearing those shirts. At the camp these had simply been the only ones they had in large numbers and after they left, well, nobody had brought the issue of concealing themselves up due to the scent-issue.

"Secondly," Persephone asked before forcing her voice back down, "what the fuck makes you think it is good idea to do so much as touch the potion of a witch who is known as a backstabbing con-artist, simply because she claims it might heal everything that's bad in the world?"

Piper hesitated for a moment, then she realised that Persephone was right, again. Medea might have claimed it would heal anything, however a certain story instantly came to her mind.

"She was baiting me." Piper whispered. "She did not mention that potion for no reason, that's the kind of potion that could have saved our lives several times over. If I bought that and fed it to one of us..."

"You'd most likely find yourself within her debt and the murderer of at least one of your friends." Persephone complemented her sentence whilst placing one hand upon Piper's shoulder.

"So what are you going do about that?" Persephone asked her.

"I am a charmspeaker myself." Piper suggested, although she sounded rather insecure about it.

Persephone shook her head in return.

"I wouldn't put all my hopes upon that." Persephone said with a rather tired voice. "She has lived through at least one human life and Tartarus knows how many others as well. Even untalented, stupid people learn a lot during a single lifetime and the Gods know Medea was not stupid or untalented."

"And I haven't lived through a quarter of a lifetime." Piper muttered.

Persephone gave the younger girl a hint of a smile in return.

"Neither have I." She admitted. "And that never stopped me from kicking all kinds of ancient ass."

Persephone grinned for a second after that sentence before she grew serious again.

"You should go back now." Persephone whispered. "Before she kills the boys because nobody is distracting her."

"Try to get her to release the Old Bat." Persephone added. "Distract her by inquiring about her history whilst you pretend not to know who she is yet."

Persephone paused for a last moment and seemed to hesitate. "If you can remove that sceptre from her, do it!"

"We'll also need the Venti." Piper interjected.

Persephone swore softly, then she nodded and raised her sword for a moment before she whispered. "I'll be staying in the vicinity."

Piper nodded and turned around, once again rejoining the boys and Medea.

* * *

It did not take long before Persephone realised the foursome was heading towards the glass elevators.

The teenager swore instantly and raced towards the golden railings. After looking down she quickly realised that every floor was a little smaller than the previous one.

At least that was somewhat reassuring. She caught a glimpse from a thick carpet and several rugs below her and took deep breath before climbing over the railings.

Then she grabbed the bars of the railing with all her strength and removed the toes from her first boot from the floor, a moment later the second followed and she felt her fingers struggle to hold her own weight.

She heard the sound of the elevator doors closing a moment later and Persephone let go.

The carpets and rugs removed some of the sting of her drop but even after breaking her fall as good as she could, Persephone still felt a slight burning in one ankle.

Still, she could only massage a bit of that pain away after she had hidden herself behind some other rack.

It only took seconds before she heard the sound of elevator doors opening again and Persephone resisted her urge to swear, again.

"I am getting too old for this shit," muttered Persephone, completely dismissing the fact that she was barely old enough to get a full time job.

Hidden behind those racks, she had an easy time following the conversation between Piper and she couldn't help becoming rather curious due to the direction it was taking.

"It took me a while to get where I am now. In the end it was only due to my patron's intervention that I am here. She made everything possible." Medea said after a short, pleasant sounding laugh.

"Your patron..." Piper asked her, unknowingly mirroring Persephone.

"Indeed, she doesn't intervenes for just anyone, you know." Medea replied. "Oh, no. Only a handpicked few, those with special skills or gifts- such as me!"

Medea chuckled again, but despite her obvious pleasure, this laugh sounded far less pleasant to anyone who wasn't charmed.

"And what does she ask in return?" Medea asked herself. "She insist on so very little. Like a store entrance that must be on underground so she can monitor my clientele and a little favour every now and then."

Persephone paled after that remark and gripped her sword harder.

"So far for being careful and hiding who I am." Persephone thought frustrated.

Still even if that Patron knew, Medea hadn't given her so much as a hint that she knew her identity, something which seemed especially mystifying since Persephone would have considered Medea very much the type to gloat. This and the fact that despite having at least a small army at the tip of her fingers and an unknown amount of poisons, Medea had made no attempt to kill her, made Persephone almost dare to hope that she was unaware.

The teenager shook her head, she was wasting time. She needed them out now, Hades, she needed to get out herself.

Piper had caught Medea's slip up as well.

"We really have to leave." She said rapidly before grunting and Persephone could easily imagine her grabbing the arms from the boys and attempting to pull them away.

"Nonsense." Replied Medea with some obvious mockery in her voice. "The boys aren't done yet."

Her voice grew milder and she continued to one of the boys "Yes, dear, that shirt would suit you."

Through a small gap in the rack, Persephone noticed Jason was holding a purple, Camp Jupiter-shirt which, considering the size of the tears and the bloodstains, might have once belonged to a victim of the Nemean Lion.

"Right," Persephone thought. "She is most definitely the type to gloat."

Behind the rack, Persephone heard Piper attempt to break through the enchantment which Medea had weaved around the boys with her own voice by reminding the boys about the fate of the brother of the princess.

It failed, but it seemed to Persephone that both Piper and Medea were rehearsing another story than the one she had been told in Camp Halfblood. Persephone was very well aware that there were at least a dozen versions of every story handed down, still both of them painted a far prettier picture of Medea than the one she had been told. The most striking difference was that in the story Persephone had been told, Medea had been the one to lure her infant brother on board of the Argo as a hostage and indeed it had once again been Medea who had killed him and cut his corpse to pieces in full view of their father and the remaining Colchian ships.

The night she had heard that story was one of the many she woke up covered with sweat and instantly crammed her own fist in her mouth to keep herself from screaming.

Medea had terrified her and she was not afraid to admit that, but it wasn't the Princess herself who she feared, it was the thought of ever becoming like her. To do whatever it was she desired or believed necessary and then one day looking into the mirror and realise that she was all alone, that everyone she had ever cared about had been sacrificed or had run away.

Persephone half suspected that had been the main-reason why Chiron had told the story with such a vivacity.

Still, it was one of the many cases where she hoped that the bedtime story was the right one.

Persephone shook her head to dislodge her earlier musing.

"It doesn't matter." she decided whilst creeping to the next golden railing, but she couldn't help but wonder who she would have become if it hadn't been for the warning of Medea's story.

* * *

It was quite obvious to everyone, including Persephone who had once again hidden herself behind one of the nearby racks, that the second floor was Leo's floor.

The Latino Elf seemed to race up and down, all the while shouting his excitement out on top of his lungs.

Persephone suspected she could have lead an entire legion (including Hannibal the elephant) into the store and nobody would have heard a thing.

Still, whilst the boy went gaga over an reinforced forge, Persephone left her cover for the first time.

It was not for a good reason, she knew that too, but she couldn't help it. A consequence from her adoption by Juno perhaps?

She carefully brushed one hand over the cow's head which had been embossed upon the armrest of the golden throne. This throne was a magnificent piece of art, one of Hephaestus earliest masterpieces. It was mostly made of gold and almost every square inch was adorned with scenes from an idealised marriage life. The only exception were the legs of which each was shaped like a peacock who had revealed his entire fan-like tail and the armrests which seemed more akin to a pair of small cows which had been the recipient of Midas touch rather than mere beaten metal.

It seemed almost an insult to the artistry that several purple pillows had been placed upon the throne for comfort.

Some part of Persephone couldn't help but admire the beauty of the piece of furniture, another part of her just wanted to empty every vial with acid in the store upon it before smashing the debris with a hammer.

That throne had been a perfectly designed trap for her mother, it hadn't been the first time Hera had been humiliated, it certainly had not been the last time, nor had it been the worst insult she had come to bear. But it had hurt her, like all of those insults did.

Persephone knew Hephaestus had his reasons for making that throne, he had plenty of reasons to dislike their mother and whether Hera or Juno, the Goddess had made plenty of mistakes.

Still, it had not been a story which made Hephaestus shine either, the God had revealed his own shallow side in the end.

When none of the other Gods or Goddess ended up being able to free her, Zeus had been forced to resort to bribing Hephaestus. His price for his own mother's freedom? The eternal loss of said freedom for another Goddess, Aphrodite.

Whatever Persephone could say about Aphrodite (and she had a lot to say about that particular Goddess), she would not begrudge her that lack of affection or loyalty to her husband. The most beautiful of Goddess with the ugliest of Gods, it sounded like a cheap fairy tale. Except that there had been no love between them, just a superficial desire to start with.

It seemed that Hephaestus was perfectly capable of being just as superficial as his wife.

There were a lot of thoughts shooting through Persephone's head but Persephone knew she couldn't stay standing there to over think them.

For all Leo's enthusiasm, even he ran eventually out of steam or as was here the case, out of objects to focus his enthusiasm upon.

From what she had seen from Piper, the girl had somehow been able to keep the boy from selling Medea his soul in exchange for a magical forging tool. Still, despite that minor victory, she failed in freeing Jason from his own spell.

Persephone took a single deep breath. "One mere floor." She thought. "And the Fates know how I'll get that bitch to free the Old Bat, because I still don't."

Furthermore that Patron, whoever she was had her worried. Someone like Medea was not the kind of woman who would accept being anyone's pawn easily. The situation seemed all the worse since Persephone might have no idea about the identity of that Patron, but she was almost certain Piper did and from what she could tell, the girl was utterly terrified of this patron.

* * *

This time Persephone remained upon the first floor, hiding herself behind one of the pillars whilst the others took the elevator down.

From above them Persephone stared at the fountain. Hedge, the Old Bat seemed to have been petrified in the middle of a battle cry, his club still raised above his head as if he had been about to smash some monster's head in.

"Coach Hedge looks all right." Yelled Leo with such a loud voice that Persephone was almost wondering whether he knew she was there and that his outcry had been meant for her.

"Of course," said Medea, "I always keep my wares in perfect condition."

"I suppose you three want to barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal, if you want too." Medea said before she pointed her eyes at Piper with an almost mocking expression. "I'll even add a vial of that healing potion as a tip."

"We ...can ... negotiate." Piper replied slowly, obviously trying to gain some time.

"Totally!" Leo yelled whilst nodding enthusiastically. "Name your price."

All three girls and the sole remaining boy instantly pointed their heads at the son of Hephaestus.

"Leo," Piper grumbled frustrated, whilst Medea laughed.

"As poor as a negotiator he might be, you can't deny that the boy knows the value of freedom." Medea said whilst placing one hand around one of the bars of the cage with venti. This made the entire cage shake as if it had suddenly been caught in an earthquake, but somehow Medea magic kept her from enduring so much as a hint of discomfort.

"You'd give a friend his freedom back and in exchange take the freedom away from my poor servants, just because you need a favour from that scatterbrain Aeolus." She continued with a far more vicious smile upon her face.

"They attacked us!" Piper protested.

"Upon my orders." Replied Medea before she shrugged, as if dismissing the attempt to kidnap them as something trivial. "It is like I said, occasionally my patron asks some small favours from me."

Medea smiled at them after those words.

"As it is, that hardly seems fair, no?" She continued. "I am afraid I will have to demand a high price."

Piper knew that in their current state, there was no stopping the boy from making a ridiculous promise upon the Styx and she acted instantly.

She reached with most of her arm into the fountain and splattered both boys with a minor wave of the water.

"Jason, Leo!" she yelled before taking a deep breath.

"This is Medea." She told them whilst struggling to add her charmspeaking to her words.

Piper slow placed her hand upon Jason's cheek and gently caressed it whilst continuing. "She is the witch from the story of the original Jason and the Golden Fleece."

She took another deep breath. "She died over three thousand years ago, Leo." She said whilst placing her hand upon his shoulder.

"I know her history, we can't trust her." Piper continued.

Behind her Medea's earlier smile seemed to grow and became more sadistically.

"I will not deny who I am and indeed, I am Medea, but Piper my dear, you do misunderstand." She said and unlike Piper, she had obviously no trouble at all at keeping her voice level or lacing it with charms.

Even without any skill in that area, Persephone could tell that Piper would not be able to steamroll over Medea's own charmspeaking. She wasn't even certain whether the girl would be able to hold her ground in a prolonged confrontation. As it was, it took every bit of mental strength that Persephone had to not rise up and launch her sword at the witch in an attempt to kill her before jumping down to the lower level. However, that cold calculating part of her brain kept her hidden behind the pillar for now. As it was now, there was no way that Medea wouldn't see her if she came up from behind the pillar.

Furthermore she doubted that a thrown sword would be able to hit Medea without the element of surprise or the confusion of a battlefield.

So instead of attacking Persephone waited and hoped that Piper would make Medea move, give her that shot at the witch's back. For once, Persephone had no misgivings about attacking someone from behind.

"You're acting like I am some kind of monster." Medea continued, with that same smile upon her lips.

"The old days were not something like you could imagine." She said sounding crestfallen. "Being a woman, or even being a child was not easy in those days. We had no power, we weren't even full humans in the eyes of society. Just pawns in a game of which the fruits were enjoyed by others. Being different was not just something which wasn't encouraged, but often it could kill us."

"I was different." Medea continued. "I chose to my own destiny, I wanted to become a sorceress so nobody could hope to control me like a mere pawn."

She smiled sadly. "Was that so wrong?"

"I made a pact with Jason, I choose my husband myself. I gave him the chance to take the Fleece and with that save his life- all of that for no greater price than his love after he already had mine."

"He became a great hero, the triumphant heir of the throne returning home to become a king- due to me!" Medea continued. "Without me, he would've died as an unknown vagrant upon the shores of Colchis and his comrades, the so-called flower of the Greek heroes with him."

Piper reached for Jason's hand and bowed her own mouth to his ear in attempt to drown Medea's earlier words out. The girl desperately brushed the tip of her fingers against the back of his hand whilst she kept whispering.

Then Jason brushed his remaining hand against his forehead as if suffering from a massive headache before he scowled.

"You ...really died three thousand years ago." He asked. His voice was subdued as if he had only just awakened from a slumber, but it contained an obvious hint of anger.

For a moment, neither Medea nor Piper moved, both stood there as if caught by Medusa's gaze. Then the moment had passed and Piper squealed from joy and wrapped her arms around Jason in a sudden hug.

Persephone could tell Jason was surprised by Piper's action, whether that was because he was still half-sedated or whether because she had hugged him at all was something she could not tell.

It was rather obvious though that Piper was surprised and more than a little bit disappointed when he moved out of her embrace.

Instead the boy carefully pushed Piper after him and reached for his back pocket, a moment later his gladius rested in his hand.

"Death no longer has a hold upon me, little hero." Medea said, sounding more amused than anything else after Jason's reaction.

The witch chuckled. "My patron allowed me to return."

Jason instantly raised his sword and pointed it at Medea whilst grasping the hilt with both hands.

"You reformed." He whispered softly and seemingly torn between fear and disgust. "Like a monster."

"Who or what is her patron?" Persephone asked herself confused. Earlier she had assumed that Medea had finally been punished by the gods, but if someone else had forced that change...

No matter how true they were, these words infuriated the witch and for the first time Medea seemed to lose her iron control over herself.

She spread her fingers, clawing them like actual talons and unknown to herself, a thin cloud of steam rose hissing from her nails. Persephone had heard a similar sound at several earlier occasions, when water was being splashed upon a hot iron or more disturbingly the hissing of the poison upon Kampê's scimitars. Considering all she had learned so far, the possibility that Medea coated her nails with poison would seem the least surprising discovery so far.

"You children really have no idea what's going into your world, don't you!" Medea snarled. "This is no mere stirring of Tartarus! My patron knows that giants and mere monsters make poor executioners for her orders. I am mortal! I have learned from my mistakes and I won't be robbed from my price again!"

She glared furiously at the two members of the trio in front of her.

Then she seemed to calm down and she smiled, not at Jason or Piper but at Leo who was still partially enthralled by her charms.

"Leo dear, my price is a little show. Attack Jason, fight him and don't worry about getting injuries or death. There is no wound I can't heal or a servant of Hades who I can't outpace." Medea told him whilst she raised a single flask up which seemed to be filled with the same potion that had enthralled Piper before whilst her voice was filled with kindness, as if she had just given him a reward, rather than ordered him into a fight upon life and death.

"Leo..." Piper started before her words turned into a sharp outcry of pain.

The girl instantly sank upon her knees whilst reaching for the back of her neck and her bare arms.

Persephone resisted the urge to swear whilst Jason whipped his head around.

Behind them the water in the fountain had suddenly started to bubble and hiss whilst a red colour start expanding from the centre from the fountain.

Jason carefully reached for Piper's arm which already started to redden whilst the first white blisters made their appearance, when he caught a glimpse of Leo's shadow and threw himself sideways.

The head of the hammer struck the tiles moments later, shattering them completely.

Jason glared at Leo for a few moments and pointed his sword in the direction of the son of Hephaestus. "

"Keep back, Leo, I don't want to hurt you, especially since I know this isn't your fault." Jason whispered.

"Of course, he doesn't want to hurt you." Medea whispered with an obvious smile. "It isn't as if you stand a chance of hurting him after all, is it not son of fire?"

"Keep calm, Leo." Jason told him. "She's only trying to rile you up."

"Indeed listen to him, fire wielder." Medea continued, obviously revelling in her power of Leo and Jason's frustration. "It isn't as if he has needed you so far. It would make a poor footnote to Jason's tale if he is forced to kill one of his ... servants here."

Leo snarled in disgust and a moment later Jason had to make an inelegant roll to the side when Leo created an orb of what seemed like liquid cupper out of thin air and send that at him.

"Leo!" Jason growled in obvious frustration.

Medea sniggered before she fixed her gaze upon Piper.

"Poor girl." Medea said with to Persephone obvious false pity whilst seeming to play with the potion flask. "It must have hurt getting burned like that. Don't you think so? And yet all she needs to get this potion is an end to this battle."

For a moment nothing happened than Jason attacked Leo with a rapid lunge of his sword and only by literally coating himself with fire did the smaller boy make Jason break his attack off.

However it did not stop Jason from beginning his actual assault and it was quite obvious that even if Leo's control over his element would extend this confrontation, there was only one way which this battle could end.

"Son of fire, firewielder, burn, the potion." Persephone whispered, recalling how Medea had caught Jason again in her charmspeaking.

She grasped her blade just underneath the hilt and prepared to launch it at Medea like a spear.

"Either I intervene now or not at all!"

Medea in the meanwhile had walked past the fighters to Piper.

"A nice try, sweetie." Medea told her. "But affection or caring alone is not enough. You really must want to seduce them."

She paused for a moment and grinned. "Or know how to approach them."

Piper took a deep breath and drew a dagger from celestial bronze, however whatever threat might have gone out from the gesture was instantly lost when she flinched back.

Medea chuckled again.

"Let them be, Piper." She told her. "They can no longer hear you anyway, lost as they are into their own world."

She shook her head. "In fact I am doing you a favour. Enceladus will be pleased if he hears their journey ended here. You could have your father back today and still tell everyone you tried as hard as you could to save them."

"Today?" whispered Piper.

"Today." Replied Medea. "Let me prove it to you."

Then from the corner of her eye, Piper noticed Persephone and even from that distance she saw the narrowing of the teenager's eyes and the hesitation in her motion, as if she doubted at who she wanted to launch her weapon.

Piper raised her hands up in reply, making a pushing motion which was clearly intended to tell Persephone to wait for a moment.

Behind Medea's back Persephone shot a quick glance into the direction of the fighting pair before slowly and clearly unwillingly lowering her weapon again.

Medea made a nonchalant motion with her arm and the water in the fountain regained it's original colour, then she plucked a diamond from her necklace and threw the piece of jewellery into the fountain.

"O Iris Goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of Tristan McLean." Medea exclaimed before continuing with a much more droll voice. "Hello, Jane."

Persephone had no way to see what they saw or even hear what they said, but what she saw and easily recognised was Piper rapidly growing more furious.

"You dragged my dad into this, lured him in a trap," Piper yelled. "you helped the giant kidnap him!"

Medea smiled at her.

"Of course my dear." She said. "I did that and much more. I have been preparing for this war even before my patron returned me to life."

"You see I can see the future just as clear as your little oracle back in Camp Halfblood." She revealed before sniggering. "Although... perhaps I should say, I was a few thousand years ahead of her. I learned of the Seven during my stay in Elysium."

"Once I realised what knowledge I had, I immediately began stirring the consciousness of my Patron and after years I succeeded in contacting her, gave her enough information to prove her my worth."

Medea smiled and nodded at Leo.

"She visited him at my advice." Medea confessed. "It took centuries of work and preparations, so many paths not taken, so many choices made and sacrifices brought, all of that for this chance to return."

Piper stared at Medea with an even growing feeling dread. Especially once she realised what Medea had just told her.

"Leo's mom..." She whispered. "She's dead due to you."

"She's dead because she fell in love with Hephaestus and because she bore his child." Medea corrected her. "She should have realised the danger of our world before she was forced to pay the price."

Piper hesitated for a single moment, then her features hardened and she pointed her blade at Medea whilst she took a deep breath.

"Such a pity." Whispered Medea without sounding sympathetic.

She raised one hand up and water of the fountain regained its red colour... then the witch fell down and cried out in pain and surprise. A heavy, forward curved blade protruded from her lower back.

"You fucking bastard-daughter of a bitch." Exclaimed Persephone before dropping herself to their level.

Both Jason and Leo paused for a moment, staring at each with confusion as if they were not certain whether they should be killing each other or not.

Piper instantly jumped past the clawing nails from the descendant of Helios and ran towards Leo and Jason.

Neither of the boys had moved until Piper reached them and grabbed them by their shoulders.

"Medea has charmed you, it's all part of her magic." She exclaimed whilst pushing them away from each other.

"But ...Leo ... hurt ... you." Jason whispered although the way he said that made it obvious he questioned that.

Jason... always ...tried ...to ...push me down." Said Leo, again no-one could miss that despite the confidence with which he proclaimed that first part of the sentence, this was almost entirely gone by the second half.

Both boys paused for a moment, "Jason/ Leo tried to keep me from the potion." They exclaimed almost simultaneously.

"You are friends, don't fight each other on her behalf, fight her!" Piper told them.

She looked Leo dead in the eyes, before doing the same with Jason.

"She killed your mother, Leo!" Piper told him. "She led her to the workshop! Are you really going to fight for her?"

For a moment Leo said nothing, then he paled and an expression of hurt shot over his features.

He growled then turned around towards the fallen witch.

* * *

Medea desperately smashed the sceptre upon the ground, once, twice, three times, then a fourth time.

Each time there was one less tooth remaining upon the head from the sceptre.

"What did you do to me?" she asked the Persephone who crushed the glass splinters from the potion vial under her boot whilst the witch kept crawling backwards.

"I'd guess my sword pierced your spine." Persephone told her with a calm voice which belied how furious she actually was.

The daughter of Juno slowly raised one hand and a moment later her second sword rested in her now closed fist.

Persephone took a few quick steps forward and blocked another hit from the sceptre with her weapon, then a hard kick removed it from the witch's grasp.

Medea hesitated for a moment than she pointed one hand at the fountain and made a pulling motion.

For a moment nothing happened, than one of the gates from the cages opened with a loud shriek.

Medea gave her a pained looking smirk and pointed another red painted nail at the remaining cage.

Persephone gave a loud growl and turned around whilst jumping backwards.

There was another loud shrieking sound, but this time it was almost instantly interrupted by a far more clean sounding clang. The Venti inside of their cage hissed at the sword which had struck the momentarily half-open gate, closing it again.

Whilst Persephone had focused her attention upon Medea, the others had been confronted with an entire cage's worth of Venti.

Most of these remembered the trio as their earlier victims, easy prey which for most of the time had been easily kicked around.

This time however there were no more winds then what they created of their own, there was no abyss which threatened to tear them into its depths and just as importantly, there was no surprise or fear from something supernatural that shouldn't even be real.

What they were confronted with was an anger which originally had not even been focused upon them.

Jason, who was armed, experienced and as it was now well-aware of most of the Venti's tricks and habits formed the first line of defence.

A horse-shaped spirit charged him head on and ran straight into the gladius.

Then a literal wave of fire shot past the boy and left four of them upon the ground, each of them covered with burns.

This stopped most of the Venti literally in their tracks.

Jason glared at the remaining spirits.

"Back into your cage." He ordered them before showing the Storm spirits the gold and blood stained tip of his gladius. "Or else!"

For a moment, the Venti just stood there, then most of them turned around and sped off...to the exit.

Only three more spirits remained apart from a small number which actually had picked the protection of their cage. However each of these three was humanoid in shape and seemed far taller and much more threatening than any of the others. "Think Aeolus will be happy with about two third of the Venti?" He asked the other two.

"Does it looks like we have time to hunt more?" Piper asked him.

It was at this point that Persephone rejoined them.

"Is this invitation only or can anyone drop in?" Persephone asked them whilst reaching for her climbing axe.

"You're welcome anytime." Jason told her, then the boy cocked his for a moment. "Persephone."

"We have to kill them fast. Medea has called four Spartoi." Persephone told them.

"Those are spawned by dragon teeth, no?" Jason asked her, feeling another cog from his memory start to turn.

Persephone nodded in return before pointing her eyes at the Venti.

"Dips on the left one." She said with a grin.

"Right."

"Guess that leaves Piper and me with the residue." Muttered Leo with mock annoyance.

Said "residue" narrowed his eyes at Leo after those words and the boy reminded himself to occasionally shut his mouth when in life threatening situations.

It was Persephone's Ventus who attacked first.

The Spirit moved fast, far faster than any human could hope to run, however despite it's human shape it did not move like one. Instead it seemed to crawl upon four limbs, however unlike the rather clumsy looking way a human would have moved, his gait reminded Persephone more to a dolphin than anything else.

In other circumstances it might have looked funny the way the Ventus seemed to move with a mixture of jumps, crawling and rolling, or rather it could have been perceived as such if it weren't for the way it would have forced a human's spine to bend.

Unlike the others though, Persephone hadn't faced a single Ventus before, although she had seen them several times through the day.

As such caught unaware by the Ventus's speed and flexibility made it sheer impossible for Persephone to turn his assault around, something which wasn't helped by the shorter reach of her climbing axe in comparison to her swords.

Persephone had only a moment before he was at her and that was just enough to jump back, so she could evade his grasping hand. In reply to his assault, Persephone lowered her axe in preparation for a low-aimed blow, but the spirit instantly turned towards her unarmed side whilst keeping himself as closed pressed to the floor as possible to evade her axe.

Without armour Persephone had no other choice but to keep evading the rapid swipes from his hands whilst waiting for a mistake of the spirit.

As young as the spirit might have been, it was quite obvious that this one had experience with facing demigods and considering the way it reacted upon her cautious first moves, she suspected it were legionaries with which he had dealt earlier.

At another occasion Persephone might have taken her time to fight it, she would have used the opportunity to learn more about the way Venti fought and moved for a future confrontation or to teach her legionaries. A small part of her would also have been willing to admit that she simply enjoyed fighting. However with Spartoi crawling themselves a way upwards through the dirt and a witch crawling towards her brews, she had no such time.

Instead Persephone start to bend a bit more forwards which made it far easier to reach the Ventus with her climbing axe. However the Spirit noticed this made Persephone also a bit slower to turn and instead of her earlier assaults upon her ankles and lower legs, now he aimed his assaults at the side of her thighs.

Persephone weathered his assaults for a short while, mostly retreating whilst only occasionally retaliating, then she allowed an attack from the Ventus to strike her leg.

It was a fairly shallow blow, even if it made the already present hole in her jeans far bigger, but more annoyingly it had numbed her leg momentarily. After that the Ventus whirled behind her whilst raising his hand for another swipe.

Persephone evaded his strike with a quick step to the side whilst instantly bring her axe around for another strike. It missed.

The Ventus crawled a few feet backwards, than he returned to his earlier game.

However this time, encouraged by his earlier success, he was too eager and Persephone's unarmed hand reacted far faster in return. The Demigoddess succeeded in grasping his own hand and pushed it directly against her bare skin.

For a moment, the Spirit was confused and simply tried to unload even more electricity into the demigoddess, then he realised his mistake and tried to jump away.

The shock of his electricity and the numbness of her fingers forced Persephone to let go, but by then it was already too late for him. Persephone had already raised her axe and the pick-like blade came down, piercing his back as if there were no bones or ribs to stop him.

"Don't become overconfident because your opponent allows you a hit." Persephone muttered whilst raising her weapon again for another strike, but this time she aimed the blade at his head.

After it struck the Storm Spirit again he fell down and started to fall apart.

Persephone took a deep breath before she brushed one hand over the numbed spot upon her leg whilst observing the others.

Jason was holding his own against the Ventus and whilst the Storm Spirit clearly had failed to realise that he wasn't going to win this, it was obvious to Persephone that the boy had no need of her aid.

Piper and Leo on the other hand were capable of holding their Ventus back but no more than that.

Well, honestly in this case it was mostly Leo who kept sending short bursts of flames at the Spirit which drove him back whenever he approached, however none of the flames reached far enough to actually harm the Ventus who had surrounded himself with gusts of wind. Still, considering the way the Ventus kept dancing around whilst seeming to create an ever growing distance between himself and the pair it was quite obvious that the Spirit felt not that confident in his odds to survive the confrontation.

Persephone on the other hand was not that certain whether that lack of confidence from the Ventus was justified, but she was not going to wait and see.

She reached into the pocket from her jeans and pulled a pen out.

"Hey, airhead." Persephone yelled at the Ventus. Then she stretched her free hand forward and the pen turned into a falcata with a familiar sounding metallic clang. "Let's teach you something new today."

The Ventus made the mistake of turning his head towards Persephone.

His stupidity was instantly rewarded by another wave of copper-coloured flames that struck him and threw him down. Then the being started to dissolve in black smoke.

"Today's subject," Persephone continued whilst cutting with her climbing axe through the smoke. "Tartarus, the place where bad spirits, mortals and monsters go."

The centurion made certain to keep her axe for a few more moments in the smoke, then she raised it up again.

Persephone noticed the way some blackened grains had stuck to the blade, like some corrupted mixture of the traditional blood and gold dust. Even more disturbingly, the grains seemed slowly getting absorbed by the blade.

She shuddered for a moment, then she lowered her axe again.

"Nice shot, boy." Persephone told him whilst she turned her attention towards the last remaining Spirit.

Behind her Leo and Piper joined in with her.

"Hey Jason," yelled the son of Hephaestus before smirking for a moment. "How come you haven't finished that mutt yet?"

He chuckled. "Would you like a hand ...or six?"

This last Ventus stared at Jason for a second. The boy smirked in return at him.

"I know you can repair anything, Leo." He said whilst exchanging a few more attacks with the Ventus. "But some of us like to have some fun before our toys get broken."

Both Leo and Piper blinked for a moment, looking surprised at the sudden callousness which was shown by the blonde.

Persephone on the other hand chuckled, whilst the Ventus seemed to dance even further away.

Her two companions lacked even the chance to react upon this, or at least not before the Ventus used the distance he had created between himself and Jason to turn around and soar straight for the exit.

The four demigods knew they had little time.

"How come you're here" Jason asked her, before reaching for his forehead and grunting, "Persephone?"

Persephone nodded at Piper and smiled. "Her mother," Persephone said, "send me Blackjack with a letter. She figured you needed some help."

Leo stared at Piper for a moment. "You get send upon a quest and your mother not only gives you a blessing, she sends reinforcements as well." He shook his head. "I am so burning with jealousy."

All three remaining demigods narrowed their eyes after his remark.

Leo groaned in return. "Too soon again?" He muttered.

Persephone turned her head to Piper, "Please." She asked the daughter of Aphrodite. "Tell him to go stand into a corner and think about what he said."

"Hey!"

Despite her latest associations with charmspeaking, Piper couldn't help but smile a little.

"I'll keep the idea in mind." She replied.

Then Persephone's expression darkened, "What was the deal with your father, that Jane and Medea?"

Piper hesitated visibly, then she took a deep breath and started hugging herself.

"I...I didn't knew what happened with him." Piper admitted. "One night I was asleep and then that Enceladus appears and told me, I had to obey or else my father would become his first sacrifice to Gaia."

She turned to Jason and Leo, "I didn't wanted to hide that, I didn't want to obey her." she whispered and even upon her guard against her charm speaking, weather voluntary or not, Persephone could tell that Piper was genuinely distressed.

"I had to stop this quest, I didn't even know it would be the three of us." Piper admitted whilst she kept hugging herself.

"Medea knew." Persephone muttered and the other three turned their eyes to Persephone, only to hesitate for a moment.

Persephone's eyes were beyond mere anger, instead the brown orbs were burning like furnaces with a barely contained fury. The three were not certain what it was that Medea had done that gained her such a hatred in return, but just the mere hint of this rage was enough to keep them from asking.

Piper nodded. "She knew." The girl admitted. "He wants me to lead them into a trap or get them killed somehow."

Jason reached with his hand for Piper's shoulder, but the girl stepped away from him whilst keeping her eyes low, unable to meet their gaze.

"I did not want this." Piper whispered softly.

Jason slowly reached again for Piper's shoulder, making Persephone curiously raise one eyebrow.

Just like before she flinched away from Jason's approach but this time Leo intervened by placing his hand upon her back, stopping her from moving backwards.

Jason sighed whilst he wrapped one arm around Piper.

"Gods, Piper." He whispered soothingly. "I am so sorry."

Leo waited for a second to give Jason and Piper their little moment. Then he put an arm around the girl as well. "You do realise we can help you, right?"

For a moment Piper seemed about to protest, but her words were cut off before she could say anything at all.

"We'll ask Aeolus about your father as well, save him before we have to free the wicked step mum." Leo added. "He can't refuse us that if we deliver him over half of the Venti, now can he?"

"First of all," Persephone told him with a voice which reminded each of them instantly to Khione. "He not only can, but will do so if you don't watch your words."

The three noticed Persephone glare now seemed to alternate mainly between Leo and Jason.

"Secondly," Persephone continued before grasping Leo by his collar and pulling until there was little more than an inch between him and her, "That's my mother you've just insulted!"

She held him like that for a bit longer, all the while Leo couldn't help but wonder whether she was going to head but him or literally attempt to bite his nose off, before Persephone settled with simply pushing him back.

Persephone threw a scathing glance at Jason.

"Hera's your mother, the ever loyal queen of Olympus had her own demigodess?" asked both Leo and Piper.

Persephone gave Jason a nod, although her expression did not seem to soften.

When the boy didn't answer, Persephone eyes narrowed even further.

"Juno was kind enough to adopt me." She said keeping her eyes fixed upon Jason, then she took a step backwards and slowly began to raise her sword.

The remaining two demigods stared at the other two for a moment.

"Ehm, would now be a bad time to explain that Jason lost his memory a couple of weeks ago?" Leo asked her.

Persephone chuckled for a moment, then she realised they were actually being serious.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Persephone asked them.

Persephone grasped Jason's shoulder. " Reyna, Nico, Drew, Dakota, Bobby?" she asked him.

Jason narrowed his eyes and rubbed his forehead again.

"I... know them. They're ...friends." He whispered. "But I can't recall their faces or who they are."

"You're our fucking Praetor." Persephone whispered, "You led the assault on Othrys as a centurion of the Fourth Cohort, you fought and killed a Titan, you're one of the two leaders of Camp Jupiter."

"When you disappeared we started looking for you, we still are."

Piper hesitated for a moment. As much as she feared the moment that Jason would regain his full memory, there were few things she wanted more and it was obvious that Persephone had plenty of those answers for him.

Still, she remembered Persephone's earlier warning, even if the girl didn't due her distraction.

"Weren't there a bunch of ...Spartans on their way to here?" Piper asked her.

For a moment the others stared at her, then both Jason and Persephone nodded in agreement.

"Spartoi..." Persephone muttered in reply whilst pointing at the nearest elevator. "undead sons of the dragon. Soldiers who can't be harmed by steel, fire, bronze or gold."

Then Persephone stopped instantly and raised an arm as if ordering them to stop.

"You're right." She continued, first sounding surprised and then distrustful. "They should have been here before we even killed those Venti."

"You think Medea was bluffing with her sceptre?" Jason asked her.

Persephone shook her head. "The four of us would've made short work of those with my stygian iron." She said whilst tapping her axe.

"Medea isn't sending her forces piecemeal at us." Jason whispered at her.

"What do you two think she is preparing for?" asked Leo whilst bringing a whistle to lips.

Persephone groaned softly at the sharp sound it made.

"I don't know, but I do know I have to get you out of here, even if it would be only for my mother's sake."

She pressed upon a button to call the elevator, an instant later Leo's eyes widened.

"Get away, now." He yelled before running away.

There was no hesitation by the others, not by Jason and Piper who had learned to trust the son of Hephaestus weeks ago and not by Persephone who had learned during the Titan Wars that a child of Hephaestus on the run outranks everyone else.

Behind them there was the sound of a loud crash, followed by a massive flame which seemed to erupt from the ruined elevator cabin.

"What did she put in that elevator?" Piper asked out loud "Dynamite?"

"I've read some labels from her potions." Persephone whispered. "Some of them were explosive."

"Damn, getting out of this mall will be a chore." Persephone continued. She turned to the cages with Venti and Hedge.

"How the hell are we supposed to get all of those out?" She asked out loud.

"Don't." Leo told her in reply. "We'll have transport coming in a minute or so."

Persephone stared at him for a moment in surprise, then she nodded. "Good." Persephone whispered. "So do I."

A moment later there was a loud cracking sound and they felt the floor shake underneath their feet.

"Please," Leo asked out loud. "Tell me that was a natural earthquake."

Then there was the sound of muted roar and another impact shook the floor.

"You know," Piper said, "when I was studying Greek myths, I heard a story about how Medea ended up escaping from Jason."

Persephone chuckled grimly. "I recall that story. I just never wanted to believe it, because if I did I would have been jealous like hell."

"What?" Asked Leo sounding rather confused whilst lighting a flame in each of his open palms.

In reply a massive snake-like head broke through the pavement. For a moment the cold eyes stared at the four Demigods than it whipped his head backwards and its neck seemed to swell up as layers upon layers of scales which usually covered each other were forced apart and a wave of fire shot at them.

Persephone threw herself aside, grabbing Piper who stood the closest to her and pressed them both against the ground, whilst Jason did the same for himself.

The only one who remained standing was Leo who simply ignored the flames with a rather flabbergasted expression.

"You telling me she escaped upon a dragon?" The boy asked whilst the monster broke further through the pavement of the floor.

A moment later a second head shot through the rapidly widening crevice.

"Her grandfather gave her a chariot drawn by sun-dragons." Replied Piper whilst staring with wide eyes at the flames which were dispersing in front of them to the obvious frustration of the monsters.

"So you're telling me that our parents are not even supposed to wish us a happy birthday, but that bitch gets a pair of gilded dragons for Christmas?" Leo asked his companions whilst focusing upon the dispersing of their flames.

"That fact that some idiot actually gave his spawn dragons might have been the reason for that rule," Persephone interjected.

"I am trying to be mad," Leo told her without turning his head towards her, "don't interrupt me with reason."

Then the dragons were free and realising that their fire wasn't having much effect, they threw the other weapons which nature had given them into the scale.

"Don't look them in the eyes." Jason warned them. "They can paralyse you."

"Indeed." Said Medea from far above them. The witch was leaning heavily against the handrail and far paler looking than before. Still, considering that merely minutes ago she had been paralysed from the waist down, gave an excellent impression of her skills as a healer and the potency of her potions.

"These two little dears were a gift from my grandfather. They've pulled my chariot ever since that day." She continued, before a pain spasm seemed to go through her body and for a moment it seemed as if her legs would fail her again. Still, this wave of pain seemed only short-lived and in combination with her hold upon the handrail, she kept herself standing.

"I'll hope I'll see you four suffer before they destroy you." she snarled furiously.

Then as if several tonnes of scales, claws and teeth weren't enough, four warriors with a transparent skin which revealed their bones were climbing up over the rubble from the kennels and parking to the first floor.

"Oooh, come on!" Leo yelled upon noticing the four warrior's approach. "Seriously?"

Persephone hesitated for a moment then she placed Riptide upon the floor and called her second blade forth which she handed over to Piper.

"Dominant hand upon the hilt." Persephone ordered her whilst grabbing Riptide again, simultaneously grasping her climbing axe in her off hand. "Spare hand upon the lower part of the blade for control."

Feeling the weight from falcata in her right hand, Piper nodded.

"Good, stay close to Leo. Protect him from the Spartoi and don't bother trying to kill them!" Persephone continued. "I am the only one with a weapon that can kill them anyway, so don't risk your life unnecessarily."

Piper nodded again.

"You ready, Jason?" Persephone asked him whilst another flame dispersed in front them.

The boy gave her a smirk in return. "Let the good times roll!"

Then they both charged forward.

* * *

The dragons were big and powerful, each of them had a body the size of a camper, whilst their tail added almost twice that length to their bodies. However whilst these were still relative fast, both sweeping around with a speed which surpassed the speed of a human limb, their length still made it almost ridiculous easy to evade them. Furthermore their vertebral column was far less flexible than a snake's or a hydra's.

Their limbs were even less of a danger because as strong as they were and no matter how impressive their talons appeared, they had never been intended to catch something smaller than a centaur.

Her image of the situation was not too unlike a bear swatting at a number of hornets.

The main problem with the dragons was not the beings themselves, it was the Spartoi who accompanied them.

Just the dragons alone would have made it a painfully long battle, but Persephone did not doubt that with Leo's protection, she and Jason would easily be able to kill them. As long as the beast failed to trap them against a wall or such, they could evade them without too much trouble.

The Spartoi changed the game, the undead warriors were not only immune for pain, fear and most kinds of death, they were also fighting with a mechanical efficiency which would make them a match for most well trained campers.

Furthermore they were practical enough to realise that rather than attempt to stab them to death, all the monsters had to do was keep them in a place for long enough for the dragons to successfully swat them aside. As if this obvious intelligence wasn't enough, they had realised that unlike Persephone Jason had no access to a weapon of stygian iron.

"Do you have an idea?" Jason asked Persephone whilst parrying a swipe from the sword of one of the grey clothed warriors.

"A few." Muttered Persephone. "The best is centred around keeping their attention focussed upon us and taking no risk until reinforcements arrive."

"I can do that for another minute or so." Jason agreed.

However rather than a full minute later, help arrived less than half a minute later and was accompanied by numerous small, multicoloured shards of glass which came raining down from the sky.

The veterans of the Titan Wars were the first to recover.

Persephone blocked the sword from one Spartoi before slamming the pick of her axe deep into the grey flesh of the creature.

Jason limited himself to placing a hard kick against the side of the knee of his opponent, shattering the knee momentarily, no matter how short that moment might turn out to be.

A mere second later, that moment was elongated to a long while when a pitch-black hoof crushed the head of the fallen monster.

Then the owner of said hooves charged past both fighters whilst slamming one of the Spartoi against the armoured belly of the dragon tearing the monster's grey uniform and skin to shreds against the scales.

After that, Blackjack turned around again and rose up whilst unveiling the full length of his wings as if he was challenging both dragons simultaneously.

They accepted.

For a moment, Persephone and Jason stared at the Spartoi in disbelief, barely daring to believe their fortune.

Than both smirked and attacked, for a few moments it was two versus two, than a blast from Leo struck one of the Spartoi in the back and the monster stumbled. Persephone instantly slammed the blunt backside of the axe head a first time against the monsters skull, before turning her weapon around and puncturing its skull with the spike.

Persephone gave Jason a quick nod before throwing him her axe, then she charged the Spartoi. The grey skinned warrior hesitated just a moment too long and found his sword blocked by Jason's sword before Persephone slammed her shoulder against him throwing him aside. A moment later Jason dispatched him as well as Blackjack's earlier victim before returning the tool to its owner.

All of this took place whilst above them, Blackjack was locked in aerial combat against the dragons.

Both species were creatures who were made to soar, to fly and dart around at incredible speeds and so they did. However unlike dragons, most people tended to dismiss Pegasi as nearly harmless beings, just horses with wings. They were far more than mere horses though. Even when grounded a Pegasus could attain speeds which only the fastest of horses could hope to match and none of those had ever been able to sustain it. However it was in the air that they were truly free, here they surpassed this earlier speed with ease and combined this with an agility which would have seen every human rider fall off his ride with a broken neck.

If it wasn't for their own interest and affection towards demigods none of them would ever be willing to bear one due to all the constraints which came along with carrying a demigod.

Now without a rider, even a skilled one like Persephone, Blackjack could let himself loose and truly live up to his reputation as the wildest of all members of his species.

Despite the dissimilarity in the armour and weapons which nature had provided the animals with, Blackjack was not running from dragons. On the contrary he swooped and dove, forcing them to keep their distance from each other lest they struck one other and fell from the sky. The Pegasus used his own speed and agility to force them into sheer impossible positions before suddenly swooping in and slamming one hoof or two against their scales.

Certainly, he couldn't win this confrontation without the aid of the demigods, but he had no need of them for his own protection. Time and time again, the horse turned upon his predators and pushed their nerves further to the edge.

Like his rider had taught him throughout the years, he kept baiting them, kept frustrating them until they became sloppy, and started to take risks in their attempts to capture him.

And just like his rider, Blackjack was not one to disregard these opportunities.

When the first of the dragons flew to close to the wall and missed another attempt to grab Blackjack with his teeth, the horse struck, literally!

Blackjack's earlier dodge turned into an attack which had him slam both his rear hooves against the dragon's jaw. Scales and bones with the toughness of iron and muscles the size of cables might have prevented Blackjack from breaking the monster's jaw, but being struck with such a painful blow was enough to make even a Dragon's instinct call for an increase in the distance between him and his prey.

Blinded by his pain, the dragon moved without thinking or looking where and his wing connected with wall. This caused numerous pieces of plaster and tiles to break and fall down, but even more importantly even a dragon's wing could not endure the wall, the impact of the sudden turn and the dragon's weight. Whereas the earlier tiles had simply chipped the floor, the impact of the dragon who now rested upon his side, had caused a massive fissure in the floor which revealed the sombre grey floors of the kennels through the cracks in the floor of the Atrium.

The dragon shook his head slowly whilst he attempted to rise up again.

However before could do so, the pair of demigods was upon them.

Jason struck first, the teenager had grabbed his sword with both hands and stabbed his weapon with all his strength into the neck of beast. He felt his sword scrape against the monster's windpipe where although after cutting through its scales and flesh, it failed to pierce the remaining cartilage.

Persephone came second but none would ever dispute her strike.

Whereas Jason had struck the monster in the side of the neck, Persephone stabbed him upwards so that when the head fell down, the dragon drove Riptide even deeper into his flesh. Neither of the demigods had more than a moment to enjoy the satisfaction of this strike before the beast swung his head in the direction of Jason, and this time it succeeded in striking the Demigod with enough force to slam him against the wall. Persephone on the other hand had a single moment of warning to throw herself aside, a motion which came just in time to feel the gust of wind when the neck sailed past her.

Then she desperately scrambled for the safety outside of the range of beast's thrashing.

It took a few moments, but it was Jason who was the first to recognise what was happening.

Once again it was as if some cogs in the back of his mind had started to turn and for a moment, the golden dragon was replaced by the image of a beached but much larger and leaner body from a vast sea serpent.

"It isn't raging." He whispered whilst the red and golden mixture of lifeblood stained the remains of the floor. "It is choking."

Persephone hesitated for a moment than she nodded. "It's drowning in its own blood."

Above them, the remaining dragon erupted in a hoarse sounding outcry which was rife with anger before it abandoned his chase of Blackjack.

Persephone hesitated for a moment before she yelled at Piper for her sword.

Then there was another hoarse and furious sounding roar which was far louder, even loud enough to resound throughout the entire store. A moment later a massive figure fell from the sky.

The sun dragon was literally smashed out of the air when fifty ton of bronze, gold and jewels fell upon him. A single claw pushed him against the ground before two rows of drill-like teeth connected with each other through the flesh and bone of his neck, almost succeeding in decapitating the beast.

"Festus?" Whispered Persephone in surprise once she recognised the massive machine-beast she and Beckendorf discovered years ago.

The teenager paused for a moment and shook her head before turning her head to Leo. "What were you complaining about wanting a dragon for Christmas?" She asked him.

Persephone sighed for a moment and then looked at Festus before she pointed to the first of the slain dragons.

The demigod made monstrosity stared at her for a moment, then he bowed his head towards the dying beast and grabbed its neck in its mouth with a surprising care.

When Persephone reached the dragon, most of the meat from his neck had been torn to shreds, however Festus had stopped his destroying just before he reached Jason's sword.

Persephone grabbed the hilt with both hands and pulled with all her strength, slowly freeing the blade from its scaled prison.

"I am assuming that you and Hephaestus's kid will be off to save her father." Persephone told Jason with a wry voice after she had approached the boy.

"Guess we're that obvious, hm?" the boy muttered whilst trying to crawl up.

"Stop acting like a fool." Persephone replied whilst she pulled one of Jason's arm's over her shoulder and stood up with Jason leaning heavily upon her.

The girl placed the sword in Jason's hand and less than a second later the weapon had turned into a golden coin.

"What are you..." Leo began but Persephone cut him off.

"I am not asking you three to abandon Piper's dad." Persephone told them. "Your quest is to save my mother, I'd be a massive hypocrite if I demanded something like that."

"Besides," Persephone continued with a small smirk as if telling some kind of private joke. "It isn't as if I wouldn't descend into the underworld to save my family."

"All I ask in return is," Persephone whispered whilst her brown eyes betrayed a hint from her feelings, "that you remember it is important that Juno gets saved, if it isn't for Olympus or yourself, at least realise that it is important to me."

"You're not joining in with us?" Piper asked her.

Persephone shook her head and raised a first finger. "No, you have no time to loose and I have a witch to kill."

Then she raised a second finger. "Besides, with her patron aware of your...our presence, there is no doubt there will be army on the move to intercept you and search this place. Even if you escape they'll start preparing to stop you if not before Aeolus, then it will be before Enceladus."

Persephone chuckled for a moment and drew climbing axe before handing that Piper. "I'll spend some time distracting them, give you four the chance to reach both parents."

"ehm." Piper began whilst holding the axe rather clumsily in her hands.

"I am loaning you this, Piper. It is more a tool than a weapon but it is still better than that mirror you have picked." Persephone told her, somehow successfully mixing both a friendly and a deprecatory tone of voice.

"Ehm, thanks?" Piper replied awkwardly.

She stared at Leo for a moment. "Take care, somehow I suspect my mother might try to kill you if you open your mouth in her presence."

Leo chuckled for a moment, having decided that it would be far less awkward to not tell her that Hera/ Juno/ his evil babysitter had already tried to do so several times...- supposedly even before he was able to talk-.

"One more thing, Jason." Persephone told him.

"What is it?" asked the boy upon far more friendly tone than his words seemed to imply.

"The camp..." Persephone hesitated for a moment. "and Reyna needs you. She's doing everything she can and a great job to boot, but I don't know how long she'll endure it."

"How long before you're back and is there anything I might pass on?"

Jason stared at Persephone for another moment and hesitated. "I don't know and I fear...I vaguely recall some names." Jason admitted. "But that's the extent of it. I am sorry."

"Reyna..."Jason asked her. "Was she my girlfriend?"

Persephone sighed. "No, she wasn't." Persephone said, not knowing whether to feel happy, hurt or ashamed due to her reply. "Just a long-time and very dear friend."

Jason hesitated for another second before. "Just tell everyone I wish them the best and hope to remember them very soon."

Persephone nodded. The teenager obviously wasn't happy with his reply but simultaneously what could Jason have said to people who currently were little more than strangers.

* * *

Both the centurion and her Pegasus stared at the shrinking figure of the mechanical dragon and its riders whilst they flew off.

"Come on, Blackjack." Persephone whispered whilst brushing one hand against his neck. "We have a job to finish."

She turned her head towards the higher floors. "Don't bother hiding!" she yelled. "I've faced Circe and children of Hecate before. You witches are far more limited than people fear.

Mentally Persephone added. "However you are easily twice as dangerous as most assume you are."

She climbed upon Blackjack's back and set off to the top floor which, considering her obsession with poisons, Persephone figured would be Medea's most likely refuge.

Once she was there, Persephone dismounted. "Keep to the air, but stay out of her reach." She ordered him. "That witch might try to throw some flasks at you otherwise."

Blackjack neighed in return, sounding far from pleased but he obeyed her commands none the less.

Persephone took a deep breath and entered what now seemed more akin to a labyrinth of racks and bottles filled with death rather than a shop.

There was no haste in any of her motions, instead Persephone focused her attention on being silent and trying to pick up some clue to Medea's presence.

For a moment she was reminded of her battle with Medusa. That too had been a nerve wracking game of hide and seek between the monster and her prey.

Now she was older though, maybe not more intelligent but certainly wiser and more experienced. Persephone moved slowly and silently, not because she was afraid but because she knew that Medea was.

And with every moment she waited, Medea grew more afraid. Persephone knew that the witch was currently remembering every part of the battle with the dragons, Spartoi and Venti which she had seen, both knew that in a direct confrontation Medea had as much of chance against her as a lapdog when facing off against a mountain lion. This knowledge would add nothing to the witch's courage, neither would the trauma of having her spine damaged by the sword.

Medea had only one chance, kill Persephone from an ambush, preferable by throwing some kind of poison or acid at her.

So Persephone moved slowly, making certain that Medea had all the time which was necessary to remember and realise all those things. She gave the witch all the time to get impatient and start to move whilst her nerves would make an accurate throw less likely.

Then it came, it was a faint sound but it was there none the less: the swishing sound of a dress.

Medea was nearby and had started to move, Persephone gave a predatory smile.

She moved a bit closer to the corner.

When Medea came near, she struck with a speed which would have been envied by the vipers who without a doubt had at least supplied some of the witch's poisons.

The first thing Medea felt was a hand closing around her wrist, a moment later a wave of pain hit her as her hand was twisted violently around.

Persephone wasted a single moment with plucking the flask from her hand before the witch could drop it and then threw it against the furthest wall where a massive and rapidly expanding scorch mark appeared whilst a soft hissing sound reached both females' ears.

Persephone gave Medea a cruel grin, a moment later she launched the witch through the hall between the racks with a shoulder throw.

Medea lay there for a few seconds, to shaken by the attack to think. Then Persephone had reached her again, the teenager went past her and gave one hard pull to hair which exposed her throat and then placed a quick jab there which left Medea choking.

It wasn't enough to kill, Persephone knew that and so would have Medea if she would have been able to think clearly, but it served Persephone goal perfectly in keeping the witch panicking so she failed to use her mind or her magic for that matter.

There had been an idea swerving around into Persephone's mind and she saw no need in not fulfilling it.

The teenager pressed the button from the remaining elevator, calling it upwards and then blocked a pathetically easy attempt of the witch to scratch her with the sleeve of her vest.

This caused instantly an obvious discolouration from the leather upon the spot where Medea's nails had touched it, but it was equally obvious that it had failed to burn through the leather.

In return, Persephone literally threw her in the elevator, resisting the urge to bash the witch's head against the wall one more time.

Then there was the sound of the elevator reaching its destination and Persephone pushed the witch out again, although the earlier confrontation had seemed sufficient to rob Medea of most from her desire to resist.

One last push and then Medea felt the back of her head hit something cold and solid. She tried to stand up again but found herself unable to.

For a moment, she just sat there, without understanding what had happened, then she realised exactly where Persephone had pushed her.

"If the stories are right, you spend most of your mortal life with chasing after power and influence." Persephone told her with a harsh voice before smirking and her voice gained a mocking tone. "Now here's your throne...your highness. How does it sit?"

"No..." whispered Medea, maybe for the first time sounding as terrified as she was. "Get me out."

"Why would I do something stupid like that?" Persephone asked her.

"I am an invaluable help." Medea yelled at her. Then the witch took a deep breath.

"I am a seer." She reminded Persephone as if she had ever forgotten that. "Power, love or victory, I can grant you all."

"I can warn you of your enemies actions. Prepare you for the opponents you will face or allow you to take them out before they even become a threat."

Medea closed her eyes for a moment. "You're in love with that Reyna, no?"

For a moment Persephone showed a hint of her emotions, then she hid them again but too late to keep Medea from realising how much of a bullseye she had hit.

The witch smiled. "Like I said. I can help you. Without my warnings she might get hurt in the future, break down or even die. I can help you protect her not just from the blades of monsters but also from the plots in the shadow... or" at this Medea smiled with an obvious self-confidence, "her own treacherous heart."

"All you have to do is free me and I'll do all that and more. You'll never have to fear an enemy and the girl you're in love with will love you, you'll be the subject of her dreams rather than a mere replacement for that blonde boy who doesn't even remember her." Medea told her with a pleased, charming expression.

Persephone felt the temptation to agree and release her, to weigh the witch down with the heaviest oaths she could think off and use her, like she might employ a weapon.

She felt the impulse to give in, to take the easy road for once, but she didn't. She suspected that this easier road would lead her and many others straight into the jaws of death.

"No." Persephone told her, with a cold decided tone in her voice.

"You'll kill them all and just for what? Because I deserve it? For a hollow claim of always being the hand of justice, rather than the saviour of many?" Medea yelled at her.

She took a deep breath. "Those three children will die by Enceladus hand, Porphyrion will rise in exchange for Juno's descent into Tartarus and Gaia will awaken. All of that will happen without my aid."

Persephone paused for a moment and for a moment Medea felt the same rush of victory again.

Then the teenager shook her head.

"Your patron is Gaia, isn't it?" Persephone asked her whilst she let her backpack slide from her back. "I doubt you'll betray someone like her for an uncertain chance upon victory with us."

Medea stiffened for a moment and stared at the demigoddess as if she had been slapped.

"My name," Persephone continued. "Is Persephone Jackson, nicknamed the Monster Slayer and Saturn's bane, former leader of the Children of War and Camp Halfblood, former daughter of Poseidon and always the daughter of Sally Jackson, centurion of Camp Jupiter and Juno's adopted daughter."

Persephone paused for a moment, letting her words permeate into Medea's skull.

"Tell me, did you ever think that your crimes wouldn't catch up with you after you escaped Elysium?"

"If you kill me, Gaia will simply call me back in exchange for a few more services." Medea protested.

"No," whispered Persephone," but she might try."

After that she opened her backpack and when she noticed that nothing inside of it seemed to have suffered from burns, strange discoloration she revealed a small, swan shaped bottle to Medea.

"What are you..." the witch started with a look of fear in her eyes.

"I want you to know, this is for my adopted mother, for Zoë, Beckendorf, Silena and all the others who died due to your plotting!" Persephone hissed before throwing the bottle at Medea, shattering the flask against her chest.

For a single moment, the witch just sat there and nothing happened. Than Medea started screaming when the first flame erupted from stains which the potion had left upon her dress.

Persephone hesitated for a single moment, then she turned around and walked away, back to Blackjack.

"May your suffering last an entire lifetime for every one of the lives you ruined." Persephone whispered.

Unknown to Persephone, for the first time in centuries there was a cold wind which went through the fields of Asphodel and for a single moment, a dozen people looked up and smiled. Than the moment had passed and the emotion, together with their memories drifted away again. The last of the people to lower her head again was a young woman, little more than a girl in a burned looking dress. In life her name had been Glauce.

Back in Medea's store, Persephone sighed and gently brushed her hand through Blackjack's manes.

"I know that was little more than murder," Persephone whispered, "but I enjoyed that far more than I should have."

The teenager climbed into the saddle, feeling herself far older than she was.

"Come on boy." She said. "Let's finish our job and then we go back to Camp Jupiter."

Behind her, upon the throne of Hephaestus the scorched remains of the witch turned unnaturally fast into gold dust, however when a first shudder went through the dust, the puddle of poison which had gathered in the centre of the throne started hissing until every motion of the dust stopped.

The throne let nothing go without his crafter's intervention. Not even gold or poison.

* * *

 **As a lot of you might have already guessed, the first version of Medea's story to which I was introduced involved (a rather vivid) telling of Medea luring her little brother on board of the Argo and the subsequent murder and dismemberment of the child.**

 **Personally** **I wonder how many stories about her were lost through time, after all, supposedly she did end up in Elysium as the wife of Achilles (considering both were arrogant, selfish, greedy and power hungry they were at least somewhat** **similar). still, if she got rewarded after her dead by becoming the wife of one of the greatest of the Greek heroes, I suspect that she did a bit more than merely the Argo, her seduction of Theseus dad and her position as unofficial ruler of Colchis through her son Medus (which involved killing her uncle). Still, I can easily imagine her escaping paradise because she believes she deserves even better.**

 **There is a lot which can be said about Medea, but in my opinion she is not a heroine and she is definitely not a victim (if there was one victim upon the Argo, outside of her brother of course, I'd say it was the original Jason). This is because Jason seems to have been depicted as a rather weak-willed character, someone who despite his own physical strength was an easy prey for the mentally much stronger Hera, Heracles and finally Medea. Although considering how he went along with most of her plots and who often profited from it, he was at least as much an accomplice as he was her victim.**

 **so yeah, shades of grey.**

 **Incidentally** **, for those who are wondering, most of Eve L. Duerh was "borrowed" from the TV-tropes-page: card-carrying villain**

* * *

 **A review is always appreciated.**


	13. Chapter 13

**First of all, I'd like announce that I utterly loath 2017. Sincerely, it was a rotten year stalked by diseases, car-accidents, other kinds of materiel failures, personal problems, ... I am genuinely pleased that the year is behind me. On a related note, I have gained a renewed appreciation for my (currently) good health, upgraded my computer, there is a new modem and I think I have talked my bank account down from ordering that hit upon myself after the severe assaults I made upon it throughout the past year. So let's hope this year is better ( I knocked wood after typing those words).**

 **As always my thanks go out to my beta for taking the time out of his day to check this chapter for errors.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or any other series. If I did I could devote myself to full time writing, update at a far higher pace and I wouldn't need my current job. Enjoy!**

* * *

It took Persephone the better part of two days before Blackjack touched down upon the road in front of the praetor's stable.

Unlike the flight towards Chicago, Persephone had made a small detour in the hope of distracting the nearby monsters for a while and as such give Jason and his companions at the very least a head start.

Whilst a lone girl upon a Pegasus was not likely to attract a lot of notice from most monsters after a brass dragon with three passengers had flown over them, Persephone had found a way to get their attention.

This way was the appearance of the Monster Slayer and involved a crimson- and gold-stained throwback to the Titan-Wars. Persephone had willfully steered Blackjack into small gatherings from Jason's pursuers and after having hit these, she had even dared to assault a far larger group, although these occurrences saw her retreat almost as fast as she had appeared.

After having drawn their attention as such Persephone had followed Jason's general direction for a while although at much slower pace than Blackjack usually would have taken or for that matter than Festus would be flying. Persephone doubted that most monsters would be willing to attempt tracking a high flying dragon when there was a black Pegasus who was flying far lower and was a lot less inconspicuous. Furthermore considering Persephone's reputation and her team up at Medea's shop, which by now was likely to be well know due to the escaped Venti, it was very unlikely that the monsters wouldn't be assuming that she had joined Jason's quest or at the very least was bound to join him at some point.

So, it was at that point that she had decided to deviate from Jason's course and started to turn away towards camp Jupiter. With most monsters upon the lookout for her, it shouldn't have been that hard for Jason to make his way to Aeolus unnoticed, especially since most of these would-be pursuers would have been wrong about the speed with which the dragon was travelling due to Blackjack's own reduced speed.

When Persephone decided she had given the dragon riders enough of a head start, she abandoned all pretenses and set course for camp Jupiter at a speed which carried Blackjack's approval.

Persephone couldn't help but wonder how long it would take the monsters to realise they had been fooled.

* * *

Back at the camp Persephone was immediately beset by a small number from the legionaries and citizens upon her arrival.

However a few annoyed gestures of her hands had the most nearby optio and his own legionaries restore the order in a matter moments.

"Centurion?" He asked her, whilst staring at Persephone, something for which she could not begrudge him. She had once again spend the better part of two days and nights in the saddle, and even more if you added the journey to Chicago.

Persephone nodded and allowed herself a sigh from relief before turning her head towards the teenager.

"Is Reyna there?" She asked whilst making a tired gesture towards the praetor's office.

"She is." Muttered the boy in return which resulted in another sigh of relief from the young woman.

Persephone dropped down from her Pegasus with a fairly inelegant motion which hinted at how tired she was after her past adventure and travels.

Already familiar with the rather infamous short fuse which the centurion at times had displayed, the optio made a quick motion towards his legionaries. A moment later these began to disperse the growing crowd.

Back at the Praetor's office, one of Reyna's praetorians had likewise taken action.

This boy had ran into the building to warn the praetor of the arrival of the centurion of Fifth the moment Blackjack placed his hooves upon the ground, the other guard had simply stayed at her post next to the gate of the building.

Reyna arrived just in time to see Persephone and Blackjack pass through the outer gate.

"Get someone to see to her Pegasus." She ordered the second praetorian before walking to Persephone.

The Praetor wrapped one arm around her to support the centurion.

"And?" she asked with an obvious tension in her voice.

"He's alive," whispered Persephone in return. "but there is more that we shouldn't discuss here."

Reyna nodded instantly and aimed a harsh stare at the one remaining praetorian.

"Get five other praetorians and guard my office, nobody is allowed entrance until I open the door again. If someone gets past you, it will be on your heads!"She told him.

The boy nodded and ran off to gather the requested praetorians whilst Reyna came close enough to place one hand upon Persephone's shoulder.

Persephone smiled for a moment and then pointed her gaze upon Blackjack's back.

"The saddlebags." Persephone whispered tiredly. "You'll want their contents once I am done talking."

Reyna nodded to her and stopped her praetorian with a single motion from her arm.

The girl halted the horse in return and then clumsily reached for said bags which were accepted by the praetor's extended hand. Reyna's eyes widened for a moment when she felt the ill-distributed weight of the bags. One of the bags was particularly heavy, as if it had been filled to the brim, whilst the other seemed nearly empty. Reyna paused for another moment to throw the heaviest bag of the set over her shoulder before turning to Persephone and wrapped one arm around the smaller woman to support her

* * *

Reyna took a deep breath whilst she reached for a bottle with cooled water.

"You've found Jason?" Reyna asked upon a rapid tone of voice which betrayed her eagerness to the centurion behind her.

Persephone nodded and slowly raised her head up before remembering that Reyna couldn't see her without a mirror.

"I've found him." Persephone confirmed before sighing.

This made Reyna turn around in an instant.

"What happened?" she asked in return.

"He was alive and healthy two days ago, let that reassure you." Persephone told her. "But apart from that, I bring little good news."

Reyna hadn't missed that Persephone had refused to meet her gaze, when she spoke those words.

"What happened?" Reyna repeated whilst resting her hands upon the back of her own seat which stood opposite of Persephone.

Persephone paused for a moment and reached for a glass which she filled with the water whilst nodding to Reyna's chair.

"You should take the seat." She said before taking a sip from the water. "Trust me, you'll need it."

Reyna sighed and pulled her chair back before seeming to slump down upon it.

"What happened?" Reyna repeated for the third time, before Persephone closed her eyes and splashed the remaining contents from her glass in her own face.

The teenager shivered for a moment before she opened her eyes again and pointed the brown orbs at Reyna.

"It is like Venus told us," Persephone started. "Jason, her daughter and a son of Vulcan are out to find and liberate my mother."

Persephone sighed again. "I met up with them in Chicago, in Medea's shop."

Reyna stared at Persephone for a moment, then she blinked and stared a bit longer at the centurion.

"What?" She asked Persephone, obviously disbelieving what she just had heard.

Persephone sighed and nodded again before leaning backwards.

"It's a fucking mess." She said. "We met up in Medea's shop."

"Medea is dead, isn't she? She's supposed to have died over three thousand years ago and went to Elysium as a favour to her Titan grandfather." Reyna argued.

Persephone shook her head. "That's what I thought too." She continued before pausing for a second. "But considering everything she told me, if she wasn't the real deal, she was damn good knock-off."

Reyna raised a single eyebrow up in an unasked question.

"I'll explain in moment," Persephone said in return, "I'd like to continue first."

And so Persephone did, she told Reyna about her entrance into the store and her introduction to the witch, which prompted a small smirk from the other demigoddess and about Medea's obvious obsession with poisons. Then she told her about the introduction of the trio dragon riders and their rookie mistakes, as well as her conversations with Piper and what she found out about their quest.

Persephone easily noticed Reyna's utter surprise when she heard about their determination to save a Faun.

"In his defence," Persephone told the Praetor, "The old Bat is an actual warrior, not one of those useless hobos which keep skulking around the borders from the camp."

"You knew him as well." Reyna noticed.

Persephone nodded and showed a small smile before replying. "I knew him, fought him and was embarrassed by having him swear eternal friendship and loyalty in public, once he woke up again."

Reyna cocked her head for a moment. "It is strange to think of a Faun and imagine him as a warrior."

Persephone shrugged, she preferred the Satyrs over the Fauns and not by a small margin.

However it did not take a genius to realise that Reyna had started to edge dangerously close to her Greek past.

"However, it is Medea's resurrection and its circumstances which we should be discussing the most." Persephone reminded Reyna.

"Of course they do." Muttered Reyna with a slight narrowing of her eyes.

Ignoring Reyna's obvious awareness of her earlier evasion, Persephone continued her explanation.

"Medea implied that she gave her patron the prophecy of the Seven at least two thousand years ago." Persephone said which made Reyna swallow whatever words she had intended to speak earlier.

"Jupiter's Bolt!"

As if she had never been interrupted by Reyna's outcry, Persephone continued. "In exchange for that information and the promise to work for her, Gaia turned the witch into a human looking monster."

"Wait, Gaia?" whispered Reyna whilst both Argentum and Aurum, who had rested in a corner of the room, suddenly stood up and bared their teeth whilst moving their heads towards the different corners of the room as if they expected some threat to appear from the shadows.

"Gaia." repeated Persephone."And that's not even the last of the bad news."

"Circe's hubris!" Muttered Reyna whilst Persephone raised an eyebrow due to Reyna's rather unusual oath.

"That bitch spoke of the Giants as well, she mentioned Enceladus and I happen to know that Orion is on the loose as well."

"Gods!" Whispered Reyna in return. "And if she had centuries to plot, only she knows how many monsters and other beings she has gathered by now and what she's done to gain her victory."

Reyna reached for her own glass and filled that likewise with the water from the bottle.

Reyna turned her eyes towards Persephone. "If she has kidnapped your mother," Reyna started, "than I'd say it is a safe bet that her preparations are done by now."

Persephone nodded. "It is far worse. Piper said that Gaia killed the mother of Leo, the son of Vulcan, if that's true than she has plotted for years specifically with the coming confrontation in mind."

"And that was even before Saturn rose from the pit..." Reyna started before her eyes widened. "Fates, no!" She yelled before staring at Persephone with a heartbroken expression. "Please, tell me it was not all in vain."

Persephone nodded with an obvious hate for the primordial and her formerly human henchwoman in her eyes. "If Medea's bragging is true, they almost certainly began the Titan War to weaken and distract us, both the Demigods and the Gods."

"Then we might not only end facing some of Gaia's beasts and at least two of her giants, but some of the Titans and their armies as well." Reyna muttered with an obvious unwillingness to believe her own conclusion and Persephone did not blame her.

"There was no such thing as a Titan War," Persephone muttered angrily, "just a great folly during which Gaia's remaining forces were hiding and preparing for another, far greater conflict."

"And they've used the intermission to reinforce their strength even more." Reyna continued whilst shaking her head.

Both teenagers stared each other for another moment. "Please, Persephone." Reyna whispered with a remarkable fragile voice. "Please tell me that you have at least some good news for me, please."

Reyna sighed and leaned backwards, pointing her eyes at the ceiling.

"Tell me Jason will back soon," She whispered, "and tell me he'll be bringing auxiliaries."

"I wish I could, Reyna." Persephone whispered, "I honestly do but I don't know how long freeing Juno will take and I don't know how long it will take him to return afterwards."

Reyna nodded sadly which reminded Persephone to one last "detail".

"Reyna, there is something about Jason you should know." Persephone said, whilst every word upon her tongue tasted like ash.

Reyna closed her eyes at those words. "What is it?" Reyna asked whilst rubbing her knuckles in an attempt to remove some of her own stress.

"According to Piper, he had lost his memory before they even met." Persephone whispered.

The teenager snorted for a moment. "I know it is true, considering how he allowed Leo to insult my mother, his own patron, in my presence."

Reyna stared at Persephone with an expression as if something had broken inside of her."

"He didn't remember..." She started.

Persephone nodded. "I told him he was our praetor, one of our two leaders," Persephone said. "I made him aware of his disappearance months ago and that we had kept looking for him ever since, yelled the names of Bobby, Dakota, Nico, Drew and yours at him. I said he had led the assault upon Orthrys as a centurion of the Fourth cohort and reminded him of the fact that he once slew a Titan."

Persephone paused for a moment. "I did tell him that the camp... as well as you..." at this Reyna stiffened again "...were in need of him and I asked him if I had to pass a message along."

Persephone hated the way Reyna seemed to perk up because she already knew Jason's answer.

"He told me he was sorry that he couldn't recall anyone properly, wished everyone the best and asked because I mentioned you specifically whether you were his girlfriend."

Reyna slumped back down in her chair. "What did you tell him?" she asked Persephone, almost sounding accusingly.

Persephone evaded Reyna's eyes in return. "I told him the truth." Persephone whispered with a small voice. "I told him you were his oldest and dear friend, his colleague and comrade."

"In his defence," whispered Persephone, "considering the circumstances, it wasn't as if he had the time to consider a lot of what I told him."

"I guess," Reyna mumbled with a sombre expression before she sighed again.

"At least he's alive, Fates be praised." She whispered before straightening her back again. "He's alive and if I know him, no matter what he will come home again."

Persephone blinked for a moment in surprise and then showed a small smile.

"That he will." She said whilst bowing her head for a single moment. "So what are your orders, my lady?"

Reyna chuckled for a single moment at the teenager's sudden change in attitude, but it was not as happy as it otherwise would have been and after that pointing one finger at Persephone's bags. "So what did you pick up in the store?"

Then her gaze fell upon Persephone's face and the hint of her own smile faded away.

"Persephone, what..." She began before the centurion fell forward, slamming the side of her head against the table. Reyna instantly reached for the fallen girl and raised her head up.

"Gods," Reyna whispered the moment she saw Persephone's features, until a moment ago, Persephone's skin had been as pale as always but now even the faintest hint of colour had faded away and had been replaced by a pallid colour which she would sooner associate with a dead body than a living being. Reyna instantly raced to the other end of the table and had just raised her centurion up again when she saw Persephone's lips and eyes revert to a green colour.

A spasm went through Persephone's body and for a single moment Reyna expected Persephone to scream, then she opened her mouth and a green smoke escaped from her mouth.

The body Reyna held slumped powerless down into the praetor's arms after that last explosion of activity. For a single moment Reyna just stood there, like a small child holding a particular large, but lifeless doll. The next Reyna laid the girl as fast upon the ground as she could do safely and placed her head against Persephone's heart.

There it was, slower and far softer than should have been the case, but her heartbeat was unmistakably there.

Reyna took a single breath, ran to the door and threw it open.

The nearest praetorian had only a moment before he was pulled into the face of the furious looking praetor.

"Bring me a medic, NOW!" She growled, before she ran back into the room.

The praetorian wasted a single moment with staring at his colleagues with obvious confusion, then he dropped his shield and javelin and started running.

* * *

Miles and miles away from the Camp, mere minutes before that very same moment, a snowstorm was rapidly growing in strength. This tempest had come out of nowhere, what earlier had been no more than a cold but rather normal day guarding the ruined mansion, had rapidly come to resemble a picture from Napoleon's Russian retreat.

Plants drooped, froze and died due to the sudden frost which accompanied the northern wind whilst animals either ran as fast and far as they could in their attempt to escape the cold which had settled into the hills or either crept deep into their nests and holes in the earth, then they continued digging, driven on by an instinct that had them create as large a distance as possible between them and the malevolence which dwelled outside.

For a moment the Hunters had simply contented themselves with closing their parka's and rubbing their hands together, but then the ice-bearing wind had become strong enough to subvert arrows, blind eyes and make even the oldest and hardiest of hunters retreat.

"Where the Hades is that storm coming from?" Yelled a first Hunter at her comrade who stood barely a few feet away from her.

"I don't know!" yelled her comrade back before loosening an arrow at an inhumanly fast moving spectre and swearing when the projectile curved to the right and struck against the trunk of a tree which brought a snowpack and a number of frosty stakes down.

"Fuck." She yelled before the shadow jumped out of the storm. This shadow was a large canine with a shaggy, grey coat which was caked with numerous patches of white by the snow.

The werewolf bared his teeth at the nearest hunter for a moment than he charged at her.

The first hunter, a girl named Celyne, had two seconds to grasp her daggers, then the first victim of the Wolf King she ever saw came within the range of her weapons.

The second hunter placed an arrow against the upper-limb of her weapon to help her friend, but then she caught a glimpse from a motion to her left and aimed her weapon in that direction. The canine which had snuck through the bushes around their flank, glared at her with a primal fury before pressing his belly against the earth which allowed the small slope to hide him from her eyes.

The girl swore softly in return.

"Celyne, we have to get back, find the others, now!" She yelled.

Celyne hesitated for a moment then she placed a first step backwards, this was quickly followed by a second and a third. Even if she was no veteran from the Titan War, she could imagine easily enough what would happen if she turned her back upon such a wolf.

She saw the wolf in front of her lower his body in preparation for a leap.

"Lady Artemis," She whispered in return whilst raising her knives and wished she was holding a spear instead.

A moment later a silver tipped javelin struck the ground in front of her and made the snow sprawl up.

Three more hunters charged out of the white mist and made wolves instantly turn around.

Celyne hesitated for a moment before recognising Phoebe, one of the oldest hunters.

"Get back to higher hills." She told them with an angry glare in the direction of the massive ruin of grey and red stone which was now hidden by the storm.

"What about-" Celyne started, but Phoebe cut her off with an angry motion of her hand. "Leave it! We can't do a thing without Artemis's intervention!"

She paused for a moment. "Or any of the other gods." Phoebe admitted with a notable ire in her voice. "The others are gathering higher up the hills, where the trees shield us from the worst of the storm." She continued.

Phoebe paused for a moment. "How many of you are here?" she asked.

"Just us, but Naomi is behind us." Celyne replied.

Phoebe bit down hard once she heard that.

"We've already found her." The daughter of Ares explained. "You haven't caught a glimpse of Thalia?"

Celyne shook her head in return. "No, wasn't she at the north, at the other side of the mansion?" She asked.

Phoebe caught Celyne's unasked question, "Wasn't Thalia at the spot where this storm started?" and growled in return.

"Yes, she was" Phoebe muttered. "A curse upon Hera and the rest of the Olympians."

That Artemis was the sole exception upon this curse stood to reason.

She swore again, repeating her earlier curse and as if to mock her, the storm seemed to subside momentarily which allowed her to catch a short glimpse from the Wolfe House.

But no sign from the other Hunters, nor Thalia and the daughter of Ares could only hope they had gotten as easily off as she had.

"Please be careful," she thought, "please be careful rather than stubborn."

* * *

It was hardly for the first time in the past days that Jason cursed Juno/Hera and every bit of the misfortune she and her immortal family had brought down upon him and the others during the same period. Still, the fact that he now could see and hear her reactions made it so much more gratifying than earlier had been the case.

The way she glared at him in return on the other hand, made him rather grateful for the spire-shaped cage of black tendrils and the walls of grey and red stones which had kept her locked in.

Still, it wasn't all bad. The massive ruins around them might have been draughty, ugly and quite frankly the last place he would have ever wanted to visit with his girlfriend (and best male friend) even if it wasn't one of the places which was so tightly connected to his separation from Thalia. It still bested being outside by a long shot, which brought him instantly to his next problem with the Goddess: his until recently completely forgotten Greek sister was outside!

"Jason?" Piper asked the boy who had seemed torn between glaring at the Goddess and staring through one of the gaps in the ruin.

Jason blinked in and then realised Piper had placed her hand upon his shoulder.

"Jason?" she repeated.

The former praetor shook his head. "Come on." He whispered whilst pulling Persephone's climbing axe from the noose which he had strapped to his belt. "We should start freeing Hera, before whatever it is that has appeared tries to intervene.

"Thalia is a Huntress, she's capable of defending herself." The boy muttered almost like an afterthought, but it was rather obvious that these last words were more meant for himself than for them and that they utterly failed to relay his own worries.

Leo opened his mouth for a moment to react, most likely attempt to lighten his mood with a joke, but then realised that he knew better than trying such and instead reached into his toolbelt, drawing a heavy looking claw hammer from the far smaller pouch. The boy gave him a nod with a serious expression upon his otherwise mischievous face whilst the head of his tool lit up with red flames. Piper simultaneously pressed her own shoulder against his and from the corner of his eye, Jason noticed she drawn her own remaining weapon as well as he noticed Leo's flames getting reflected upon the blade.

Slowly, he forced a small smile upon his face.

The three crossed the open courtyard towards the ruined remains of a dry pool between the walls of the U-shaped building.

"Does this also feels like an ambush to you guys?" Leo asked them, "or is it just me?"

"That is because it almost certainly is!" Juno replied with a cold voice which did absolute nothing to hide her annoyance.

She pushed one arm, which was remarkably tanned for a woman of antique, immortal nobility, between the tendrils which served as bars and pointed one finger at the spiral at the opposite end of the pool.

"Do you think that it is coincidence that Gaia choose this place for the awakening of her final son?" She asked them. "This place is not just rife with ancient power, it is one of the most sacred places of the Roman camp. If they find it desecrated..."

Juno paused for a moment and pointed her brown eyes at Jason.

"...they will march to war against whomever they get to blame for the crime, no matter whether they are Monsters, Greeks, Amazons, Atlanteans, Hunters or even fellow Romans." Jason continued with a soft, worried voice.

Three pairs of eyes followed the Goddess index finger and pointed their gaze upon the second, far larger spiral which rose from the broken tiles in the pool.

"What you are seeing is called Porphyrion, the youngest of Gaia's chosen spawn and the most powerful of his entire species." Juno told them, before pausing and taking a deep breath. "And like his mother, he is growing stronger and more awake with every passing moment."

After those words her arm disappeared again behind the bars of her cage.

Jason hesitated for a moment and then jumped down, to the bottom of the pool, Piper and Leo followed moments later.

At first he had hardly been able to look inside Juno's cage, except when she had stood in front of the bars and had obviously intended to be noticed by them, but now she seemed to hide herself from them.

"Lady Juno?" Jason whispered with obvious surprise in his voice when he almost pushed his head against the tendrils and looked inside of the cage.

The woman inside of cage was Juno/ Hera, there could be no doubt about that. There were too many details which showed that she was Persephone's adopted mother. However it was equally obvious it was not the Queen of the Olympians who stood before them or rather who slumped against the wall at the rear of her prison.

Juno's age seemed to have finally caught up with her and what little of her skin was visible had been tainted by wrinkles, her complexion had darkened but with a slight shade of red which seemed more like the result of sunburn rather than a healthy tan. The Goddess hid most of her features behind a dark shawl but therefore revealed the numerous stains of grey in her black, matted hair.

There was no visible glow or radiation of power to the point that it could have seemed like she was an ordinary woman. There was nothing that gave a hint about the ichor in her veins, nothing except for the past eons which had been mirrored by her eyes and the anger which they contained.

"Tia Callida." Muttered Leo, which resulted in the narrowing of those very same eyes.

"What has happened?" whispered the boy. "And how did the other Gods miss this?"

Juno fixed her eyes upon her grandson in return.

"Gaia has been siphoning my strength to revive her son since the start of my imprisonment." Juno replied answering his question upon a tone which would have suited a parent who had caught her misbehaving son finally removing the foil of his schoolbooks after getting his F-filled report card. "And unlike you three, I lacked the opportunity to get a makeover from Aphrodite." She continued snappish.

She paused for a moment and took an audible breath as if to calm herself down.

"Your second question deserves more merit though, Leo Valdez." She admitted. "Gaia has shielded this place from all immortal eyes with the aid from at least one God or goddess and a Titan. I suspect that even she herself is currently unable to see what happens in here. At the time I thought they had made a mistake when they left some traces which I could detect and which made me investigate the ruins of the mansion."

"To paraphrase admiral Ackbar, it was a trap?" Leo stated with a small grin.

"And to think I picked you for your intelligence." Juno stated with a sigh.

"How do you we get you of here?" asked Jason with an admonishing look at his companion. "Or destroy Poryphyrion?"

"You shouldn't waste your time trying that." Juno told him. "Without me you lack the necessary power to break his shell."

Leo sniggered for a moment. "We destroyed a mountain an hour ago."

"And can you do so again?" Juno asked him, with an even for an immortal noticeable lack of enthusiasm.

"No," Jason admitted. "Not without my father's intervention."

"Then how do we do destroy this cage?" Piper asked Juno. "Can you help?"

"The dove and the forge shall break the cage." Juno said, repeating the line of the prophecy which had send them on their way.

She paused for a moment and Jason suspected Juno pursed lips behind her shawl. "And no, there is little I can do at the moment." Juno admitted. "What little power I retained was either expended or stolen after our last conversation, Jason."

Each of the three demigods suspected that those two sentences might have been among the most difficult to admit for the Goddess throughout all the millennia of her existence.

"Well," Leo said whilst kneeling in front of the tendrils. "Let's gets to work then."

The boy removed a small, handheld electric saw from the separate dimension which was his tool belt and checked the batteries, then he sighed.

"Nobody of you will ever mention that I am about to use a woodsaw against;" ...he waved his hand in an annoyed gesture "whatever material these bars are made of."

"You're feeling ridiculous?" Piper complained with a small smile. "I am about to talk to them."

Jason however had been "blessed" with much more experience with politics and felt far less light-hearted. He suspected that Juno had used the word expended with a reason, and likewise he noticed that Juno hadn't moved from her spot since their arrival.

For a single moment, the boy was about to call her out upon this. Then he realised something, outside of mansion, the storm had fallen silent.

* * *

Jason reacted instantaneously, his action as much a result from his earlier experiences as they had been instructed by his reflexes.

The boy whirled around with his dominant arm extended, the air instantly obeyed his command and shot away from the three demigods as if it was a wave of water in a pool.

"Leo, fire!" Cried a loud male voice and it took him a moment to actually realise that it was himself who had yelled the order.

The son of Hephaestus obeyed his friend without so much as a hesitation and unknowingly imitating the son of Jupiter's gesture, he too swerved around with an extended arm, but the wave he send away from them was no mere air, instead an actual curtain of red flames coursed over the otherwise frozen, infertile ground until it struck against the cold, brittle air. The three demigods and Goddess heard a momentarily crackling from electricity before the wave of cold hit them, turning their breath into mist and making them stumble back as if they had been physically slugged in the face.

Opposite of them stood a beautiful, brown eyed girl with long dark hair, a pale skin and a frosty smile upon her lips.

"Bon soir, mes amis." Said Khione, the goddess of snow.

Her smile softened for a moment and she looked at Jason. "My compliments, I hadn't thought you'd react so fast."

The temperature dropped instantly, cracking the lips of the three demigods and made them shiver, until Leo placed himself protectively in front of them with a single fist raised to the sky.

The tiles and walls around the demigods became rapidly covered with a layer from frost, this layer was thin at first but in a matter of moments it changed from a layer that was so thin that a mere swipe from a finger could have melted the frost till it became something akin to a snow carpet which hid the pavement.

The white carpet expanded rapidly in seize and thickness, encroaching and surrounding the three demigods and the captured Goddess, but then it stopped! The four of them stood in a crude circle of maybe twenty feet in diameter.

It was Leo who took a deep breath before he smirked back at Khione and lit his fist up.

Khione's smile disappeared in return and instead she threw a quick glance behind her and then, as if obeying an unspoken order they came in.

The first who entered the ruin were the Venti with whom the three were now very familiar. Horses and winged men rushed in through the gaps in the walls and over them. The storm clouds from which their bodies and wings had been constructed, had darkened even further, whilst their eyes and manes crackled with lightening with an even greater intensity than before, as if their anger and the newly obtained freedom after their imprisonment had strengthened them.

A few of the Venti swooped down instantly, as if they were living projectiles which had been launched by a massive catapult outside of the ruins, but the majority of them touched down upon the ruins themselves. There they stared down upon the isolated demigods with hate filled eyes as if they were gargoyles or maybe vultures.

The next creatures were far slower and almost remarkably ordinary in appearance in comparison to the spirits, however they seemed at least a hundred times as fierce as the fast but volatile Venti.

Lycaon's sons and victims were massive beings, wolves with the size of a bear and none of that animal's cuddliness. Most of the beasts were grey or brown in colour and all of them had a fur that was stained by snow and in few cases they also had claws and teeth which were stained with crimson.

What set them apart from the ordinary wolves or the members of the species who accompanied the Hunt or Lupa was not their size, even if a few of either group were able to equal, or even surpass the stature of the heirs from Lycaon's curse. What did set them apart were their eyes, these were red and ablaze with a malevolent intelligence as if Lycaon and his spawn had not only infected them with his curse but also imparted them with his own desire for revenge and bloodshed upon both the Gods and humanity.

Upon noticing their appearance, Jason had expected the first beasts to charge at the three demigods, to have them cross the distance between them and the stones in a mad assault whilst the poisonous foam fell dripping down from between their jaws.

If they had done so, he might have stood a chance to hold them off. What happened instead was much more terrifying, the beasts were surrounding them. There was no mad charge which could have been beaten back by a skilled demigod, instead the wolves moved slowly but with an obvious confidence in the outcome of the confrontation.

Jason could hear the growls of the wolves whilst the pack moved closer, he could see the foam drop down from between their jaws and form small puddles in the snow before these droplets were frozen over again. He could even smell them, it was the same sour scent which accompanied most wolves but it was mixed with a far more obvious hint of decay which made the hair upon his neck bristle.

Jason took a deep breath and quickly pulled a single broken branch out of the snow.

"Leo, a torch!" He ordered the boy whilst aiming a glare at the creatures. "Let's remind those bastards why all animals fear fire!"

Jason forced a chuckle through his lips. He did not want to die! He had a girlfriend and a best friend, a sister whom he hadn't known, more parts of his memory to recover, friends whom he hadn't remembered yet! Still, the boy's voice and expression betrayed not so much as a hint from these thoughts, instead he accompanied his earlier chuckle with a challenge. "Good, I was afraid I would be the fifth wheel in our rescue." He said.

Jason doubted a human would have been able of recognising his bluff, but these were wolves, they could smell it.

Piper and Leo couldn't though.

"So you need our help to take care of these sons of bitches?" Leo asked him whilst lighting the top of his friend's torch on fire.

"I won't as long as you're capable of keeping **that** bitch from freezing my ass off." Jason muttered, before remembering to show them a confident smirk.

"One of these days I'll start billing you for saving your ass." Leo muttered with a soft chuckle, before letting his eyes go over the gathering of enemies. After that he took a deep breath, wondering how Jason could even appear confident with so much anger about to bear down upon him.

"It's an ass worth saving, Leo." Piper whispered with a similar worried smile upon her lips.

Khione who had witnessed their exchange chuckled likewise but her laugh contained far more mirth than the nervous attempts from Jason's companions.

Then the goddess of snow shook her head.

"Such an admirable show of confidence," she whispered with almost appreciating smile upon her lips. "Such a shame it is misplaced."

She made a great show of raising her left hand and then snapped her fingers.

For a moment it seemed to the three demigods that the ruins around them had been caught in earthquake. The remains of the building shook as if it was mere wood caught in a terrible storm. Then the three realised that this impression was wrong, the ground wasn't shaking in an attempt to knock down the ruins.

It was coming to life or rather it was giving birth to life. There were six of them, six Gegenes, Earthborn. Each of them was seven feet tall and roughly shaped like human. But it was no Michelangelo who had shaped them, nor was it someone who had wanted to take pride in their appearance. Instead they seemed mostly like the caricature of a neck-bearded large mouthed man given life. A large mouthed, neck-bearded man made of clay with six long arms!

Jason paused for a moment, seemingly too surprised to react, then he fixed his gaze upon Khione and mouthed three words: "Ooh... come...on!"

Khione chuckled softly, obviously pleased with Jason's reaction. "You weren't supposed to kill Enceladus." She said. "I am not going to be noble and allow you a chance to win, Jason Grace. I have risked and lost too much already."

"Leo, Piper." Jason grunted before sighing. "I might actually need a bit of help."

Both nodded and positioned themselves next at Jason's side whilst Piper grabbed another improvised torch from the floor.

"You think the Hunt will come to our aid if we hold out long enough." Leo asked nervously.

Jason doubted it, it was hard to believe that the Hunt was still out there if Khione and at least fifty monsters were in here with them. But perhaps a small number of them would be willing and able to come to their aid if they held out long enough.

"If we're brave!" He said, not bothering to mention the odds of that actually happing.

He pointed his eyes for a moment at his companions. "Stay by my side, as long as we're fighting together they can't defeat us." He said then added. "Thalia will be here before you know."

"And I thought Medea was the half of the pairing which saw the future." Khione told him with a pleased smile before raising her arm again.

For a single moment nothing seemed to happen but then the most aggressive of the Storm spirits shot away through the openings in the wall.

A moment later they were back and stood next to Khione.

All Jason had been able to notice was that they had dropped something before the Goddess.

"Give her some space, boys." Khione whispered. "The boy hasn't had a lot of time to see his family recently."

The three demigods stood there for a second, then another second passed and a third followed.

What lay there appeared to be a statue at first, an awfully realistic statue perhaps, but every one of them knew it wasn't a statue. There were statues with a tiara or a bow, but none of these had ever been wearing a silver parka as well. Neither would they have had the word "Green Day" added to the quiver upon their back.

* * *

A crackle, that was the first sound Piper and Leo heard, a small discharge of electricity and then this single crackle became a fixture which accompanied every sound they heard.

Jason was breathing heavily, his head was held down to the point that if it wasn't for the small flashes of electricity which coursed over his entire body, one could have believed he was crying.

When he raised his eyes back up from his frozen sister they were bright blue and contained enough cold to impress even the Goddess of snow.

"I... am ...going ...to ...kill...you...!" He whispered. "Every...single...one!"

Behind the three. Hera resisted the urge to swear, time was currently her worst enemy and greatest hope, but it was rapidly running out.

With all attention focused upon the youngest bastard of her husband, she risked a quick glance upon the wall behind her. Unknown to all but herself, the red stones had been adorned with numerous symbols and letters, each of these was written with her own ichor. She hadn't lied when she said that her power had been sapped by Gaia, but this did not mean she had gone down easily. The Goddess had fought and wrestled with the primordial, it had been a one-sided confrontation certainly but it had allowed the Goddess a few short-lived escapes to warn and "encourage" her rescuers. However that was not all that she done. Unknown to Jason and the others, Hera had paid a price in pain and power for everything, whether it was her warning or her own preparations to bloody Gaia's nose.

Hera rubbed her own arm and felt the numerous cuts and scars which she had made in her own skin to craft her escape.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, allowing her to focus upon the flow of what little power she had retained. In return she felt the ichor seep slowly through the stones of the walls to the veins she had crafted for them throughout her imprisonment.

The thin lines of the golden fluid lit up slowly in return and the goddess felt a small shiver when the last droplets fell in their intended place. She had worked for weeks at this last defence, camouflaging the trickle of power from her labour with the flux of her draining. With every passing moment she had grown weaker and feared that her efforts would fall short and ended up being wasted, but still she had endured, always sacrificing more of her strength and crawling ever closer to the edge of Tartarus.

"One last push." She whispered whilst the first of her cuts reopened. There was a great power in blood, suffering and dead, especially when it was a Goddess who for once became the victim rather than the recipient. Why else would Gaia have gone through the trouble of capturing her to awaken her most powerful son rather than merely pouring her own Primordial strength into him?

Hera felt the rush and smiled, feeling the sensation of her approaching "death". Another God might have backed down, deciding (not entirely wrong) that the few minutes she was robbing herself of for power would help little and could cost her everything. However there were few deities who could be as cruel as Hera, but even less of them had ever realised that she was no less cruel to herself than she was to others.

She felt her knees buckle under her own weight and slowly slumped down upon the ground, for the first time exposing the gold-coloured symbols in the wall.

However who would ever pay attention to the wall of their prisoner when Jason was raging next to it?

* * *

It was a werewolf who broken the tension when he launched himself directly at Jason who had dropped his torch. He was the first attacker and the first victim from their confrontation. Jason countered his jump with a massive gust of wind which made the beast fall short and then grasped its throat with his spare hand. An acrid burning scent immediately spread through the ruins. When Jason released the throat of the beast again, his hand was coated with lightning. The werewolf stayed down with a burn mark around his neck which was shaped like a human hand, the canine's body remained down as if he was paralysed whilst his limbs and jaws were twitching uncontrollably.

The teenager growled softly and charged forward, closely followed by Piper and Leo.

One of the Venti who had waited by Khione's side charged forward and bore down upon the son of Jupiter.

Jason growled like one of Lupa's followers and placed one foot upon seemingly empty air. Instead of finding it empty and falling back down, he found the wind and using it as if it was the step of an invisible set of stairs, Jason ran upwards. After a few steps, he was already at the height of the horse shaped spirit.

Then he jumped and wrapped his arms around the smoky neck of the Ventus.

The Storm Spirit reared up in return, he bucked his back and shook. The being even tried to shift back into mist in an attempt to dislodge the Praetor.

Every attempt failed, the spirit fought and raged...and fell short in fortitude.

Jason forced his own mind upon the Ventus', aimed its anger and strength away from himself and his comrades. The storm which was this single Ventus grew smaller and Jason felt the pressure ease down. It was still there, still fighting against him, like it would fight against anything that would try to control him, but the Ventus was only a single spirit and Jason was the son of the lord of the sky.

Then after a single moment that had seemed to go on for an eternity, the storm spirit aimed his eyes away from Piper and Leo, and pointed them at the remaining wolves, Spirits and Gegenes.

Jason growled and then eased his chokehold upon the spirit's mind, then, still seated upon the Spirit he unleashed the storm again.

He could feel the horse's anger and then its satisfaction when it could unleash this fury. The horse raged and raged, like the tempest which it personified.

As if it had caught that thought, Jason recognised the pleased feeling which tugged at edge of his mind.

"That's your name, huh?" he asked, more likely sending the message through his bond with air and wind than by actually speaking the words.

In return the Horse reared up, shaking its lightning coated manes and hooves at its former allies.

"Fine," Jason muttered. "Let's see whether they can weather us both!"

A moment later the horse launched himself with his rider upon the most nearby cluster of enemies, one werewolf was slammed aside by the horse's dark chest as if he was no more than a dog struck by a Humvee, a second sank back down when Jason slammed Persephone's axe downwards and penetrated the canine's skull.

A third werewolf raised himself clumsily upon his hind legs and attempted to pull Jason from Tempest's back. Jason met him with the same lightning which had brought the first canine down.

Behind him Leo had literally coated himself with flames before wading into battle, he held his hammer with both hands and slammed it down upon every monster which dared to come near him. Few monsters did though, even if most of them liked the cold no more than the demigods did, none of them was eager to get to close to the small Latino after a first werewolf's shaggy coat literally caught fire.

Piper, who was armed with her dagger and torch, fought at the rear, from all three demigods she was the least impressive combatant but that did not mean she wouldn't try or allow herself to back down again. Using her words as much like a weapon as her actual arms, she was a far greater threat than anyone (including herself) would ever have given her credit for.

To the demigods, it was a desperate, mad struggle to survive. They slashed and swore, struck and cursed or aired their rage and fear by unleashing their powers. Lighting and gusts of wind whipped through the ranks of the monsters, fire was shot through their numbers in wide waves and then there was that constant voice which begged them to flee... or to take a step in a certain direction which would kill them with fire, lighting, wood, bronze or iron.

To the demigods it was a desperate, mad struggle to survive. To the monsters, it was no different than a murderous maelstrom. They jumped or flew down from ruins in attempt to strike the demigods down or turned the snow stained ground in a grey sludge with their charge. What they found was not too dissimilar from a natural disaster waiting for them.

The closer they came to the three, the greater the temperature became up to the point that some of them eventually chose to retreat back into the snowy cold. Khione was a Goddess and her power surpassed everything even a gifted son of Hephaestus could bring but even she couldn't extinguish the flame which was Leo. The boy focused his fire into the small area around him, it was a little zone, more likely to be measured in feet rather than paces but once inside of his range the temperature skyrocketed almost instantly and left only the demigods unaffected. Then there was the constant crack of lighting which kept lashing around, burning and maiming them in one and two's or even three's and fours, but it was a constant threat that kept slicing into their numbers.

Still as one sided the battle seemed for the moment, it was not as if the demigods would be able to keep the onslaught up. Even after a few moments, Jason was already panting.

However, Khione was not going to wait until the demigods ran out of energy.

Instead she pointed her hand towards the teenagers and then closed it with a noticeable crush. A moment later several massive, diagonal spikes of ice shot out of the ground into their direction.

For a single second nothing seemed to happen, making it seem that Khione had wasted her strength with the creation of the spikes. The next moment one of Jason lightning bolts lashed once again through the surrounding monsters.

The electricity went straight for the diagonal poles, even ignoring several nearby monsters in the process and struck the ice. The numerous impurities in the water conducted the wave of electricity but failed to contain the charge and shattered.

This peppered both demigods and monsters with numerous chips and shards of the ice.

For a moment both parties stared at each other in surprise whilst checking themselves for cuts, the next the demigods took an instinctual step backwards. The monsters on the other hand, far bigger, stronger and protected by fur, thick skin or even electricity had barely been harmed by the small fragments.

Still safely behind her own forces, Khione gave the three a smile and wagged a mocking finger at Jason.

As if to confirm the useless of his father's gift, several more icy spikes shot out of the earth.

Jason swore softly whilst giving his horse, Tempest, a few reassuring pats upon the neck.

Behind him, Leo growled angrily.

"She cancelled you out too, hm?" He muttered grimly. "Any suggestions?"

As if to answer that question a new shock went through a part of the surrounding buildings.

"I suggest you make haste." Khione told him with an obvious sadistic pleasure in her voice. "It seems Porphyrion is about to open his eyes."

"And we haven't even started to save Juno." Muttered Jason whilst taking another step backwards.

"Hold your ground!" Juno ordered them from inside her cage. "Do not take so much as even a single extra step backwards."

"And too think I almost forgot about your presence." Whispered Khione as if she indeed had forgotten about the imprisoned queen of Olympus.

"I must say I am surprised." She said. "Somehow I had expected you to be louder, more vocal about your imprisonment and the coming fall of Olympus.

From behind the bars which kept her imprisoned, Juno rolled her eyes. "It is not one of my habits to argue with fools."

Khione raised her arm once again and closed every opening between the tendrils with her ice.

Khione chuckled. "It is rather ironic, no? Two more steps backwards and I guess that Leo Valdez's heat would have kept me from doing that."

She shot the trio a bright smile and made a small reverence as if she had only just appeared from a past century.

"I have been wanting to do that far ages." She admitted with that same happy smile.

"Trust me, lady," Leo muttered whilst bending forward and placing his hands upon his knees, "I am certain half the mythical world feels like it owns you a high five for that."

Khione chuckled again, seemingly immensely pleased with herself and Leo's little joke.

"Yes, I guess that is indeed the case." She said sounding rather absentminded.

Inside of her cage, Juno smiled at the sight of ice closing off the space between the bars.

"Perfect," was all she muttered before she sank down against the wall and made a final tear in her skin.

A last little sacrifice of her strength.

"Jason, Leo, Piper..." she whispered, whilst sending the thought towards the demigods outside. "If you're still willing to try saving me, the world or your sister! Then focus the heat into Thalia's direction and attack...now!"

A new shudder went through the building and part of the upper level collapsed and tumbled down, which made the werewolves jump away and Khione turn her head towards the distraction.

Jason unleashed a loud war cry and charged forward, closely followed by Piper whilst Leo held his ground still and focused upon the bright red orbs which floated above the empty palm of his hand. It took little more than a moment before the colour of the orbs had shifted, turning from red into blue. Then Leo made a growl that was a mixture of anger and exhaustion and shot both past his companions. The first caught Khione unaware and struck her against the chest. The Goddess was thrown from her feet by the sudden impact and was launched against the most nearby wall as if she was a ragdoll.

The second slammed against the same wall, against which it seemed to shatter and was made to spread it's warmth around which melted the worst of the frost around them.

Leo however lacked the time to admire that result, instead he had taken another hammer out of his tool belt and charged after his friends.

This time there was no lighting to make the monsters hesitate and they answered the assault of the Demigods with their own fury.

For a single, glorious moment it had seemed as if Jason and Piper would succeed into reaching Thalia, then the wave of monsters stopped them. Jason swore and growled, the boy threw his axe around him with a furious rage that proved to everyone why the Romans had considered him their greatest warrior during the assault on Mount Orthrys. The stygian iron climbing axe was not so much a tool as it was an instrument of death that took the life of everyone who dared to oppose it. Tempest lived up to his name and acted as if he was indeed a natural disaster which had been given form. But even with all his skills and these help, Jason could not break through the lines of monsters. Or at least he knew he could not without abandoning his girlfriend and best friend.

His sister was less than a javelin throw away and yet he was forced to see how one particularly large werewolf laid his pawns upon his sister and started to drag her away.

Then what seemed like another large piece of rubble fell down from above and struck the werewolf, chattering his spine.

The view of his sister was obstructed by the thick cloud of dust which had been raised by the fall but then he noticed the massive figure rising up from the ground.

For a single moment, everyone stared at the kneeling figure who slowly stood up.

The figure was large, at least a eight if not nine feet high and most definitely humanoid, but even from a distance and clouded by dust it was obvious that it was no born human or monster.

Then the long sword in her hand was pointed at her opponent and the figure lunged.

The first of the Gegeines was still staring at the female in wonder when he felt the sword piercing his throat. The Earthborn reached for his throat with one of his six arms in shock and grabbed the blade as if holding the sword in place could keep his life from slipping away. However, the woman whirled around like a dancer and slammed her elbow against the cheek of the ogre-like being which left his jaw shattered.

After as such having freed her weapon, she threw herself forward and slashed her weapon upwards which made a first Ventus fall down in two pieces.

Jason had a single moment to throw a quick look behind him to the icebound cage which hid Juno from his eyes before he continued fighting.

By the next, he threw a smug grin at the most nearby monster before following that up with his climbing axe. The Ventus yelped when the stygian pierced his side, then Jason threw himself down from Tempest and slammed the spirit against the still frozen ground. He followed this up with a right hook which slammed the Ventus' head against the earth for a second time and then grabbed the handle of the climbing axe. A single hard pull freed the tool from the Ventus' body and by keeping the spirit pressed against the ground, Jason withheld him from turning into mist. Then the stygian blade of the axe fell again and pierced the being's skull. Behind Jason Tempest rose up on his hind legs and drove the most nearby monsters back with his flaying hooves.

Jason took a deep breath before pushing himself up again, he felt a hand upon his shoulder and spun around again. Then he recognised Piper and only a few feet behind her stood Leo again. Both were panting but especially Leo was looking as if he was death upon his feet.

Jason gave them a nod and then pointed back to Juno's cages, "Back!" he yelled, now is your chance."

"Your sister, Thalia?!" Piper protested.

Jason took and deep breath and shook his head, even if he felt like the lowest human being for doing so. "She has her protection." He told her, whilst praying to every god and goddess he knew that he was right.

Piper looked as if she wanted to protest and so did Leo, but both nodded and turned around towards the cage.

Unlike them Jason wasn't running back to the cage, instead he was slowly retreating, accompanying every motion of his feet with a swing from his blade. There was bitter cold inside of his chest which had nothing to do with Khione, it was the fact that he felt like a traitor, as if he had just sacrificed Thalia for Juno, upon no more than hunch.

The pain and fear he unleashed upon the monsters did nothing to make this feeling lessen, but for a moment it helped because it distracted him and did not allow him the chance to ponder upon his actual emotions.

Back at the cage, Leo had grabbed his earlier discarded woodsaw and placed the blade against the first tendril.

"Piper, I am not hearing you!" He growled whilst focusing upon his own task.

Piper nodded and kneeled next to one of the tendrils in the same way she would have kneeled down to whisper into someone's ear.

She took a deep breath and began talking upon the same kind, slow tone as she would have used with a tired child.

"It has been a long day, hasn't it and you have worked so hard." She began whilst brushing one hand against the tendril. "Everything must be feeling so heavy as if you are tired. Don't you wanna lay your head down and close your eyes, just resting them perhaps?"

* * *

Back at the outer wall, the combat had only grown fiercer.

A massive werewolf jumped at Thalia's saviour only to find himself caught by the throat as if he was puppy rather than a quarter ton of muscles and rage. For a single second he hung there like that, then a loud shriek escaped his tortured throat when Thalia's defender stabbed her sword deep into his belly and twisted it violently.

A moment later the massive warrior pivoted upon her heel like a ballerina and used the tormented animal as a shield when one particularly tall Ventus charged at her.

The Ventus fell down, thrown back by his own impetus and immediately felt the weight from the werewolf's body when that was dropped upon him. A moment later his head was squashed open like fruit when a heavy brass shoed foot stomped upon his face.

A new werewolf fell upon Thalia's defender by literally jumping down from the wall and threw her aside, seeing his chance another werewolf lunged at the fallen warrior with his jaws opened wide.

The defender raised her arm in defence and found the jaws close around her wrist in return. The werewolf bit down.

The earlier werewolf scrambled up and prepared to clamp his jaws around the warrior's head. However the warrior stabbed her sword at him when the monster lunged for her head. The broad blade of her sword slipped between the beast's foaming jaws and the creature fell silent. Then she wrapped her fingers around the other werewolf's lower jaw and started pulling down. For a single moment, the beast resisted and then he noticed that his jaw was indeed was moving. A sad, fearful whine escaped his throat before the resistance of his jaw muscles disappeared.

The freedom from her wrist was accompanied by sickly, wet sucking sound and a loud crack which left her with the bloodied pieces from the werewolf's lower jaw in her hand.

For a moment nothing happened, then Thalia's defender was once again towering over the actual monsters and reached for her sword.

Around them, the storm was picking up in strength again and this made the warrior bent down and reach for her protégé.

A Ventus saw its chance instantly and shot downward at her which made the guardian throw both herself and Thalia aside to evade the horse-like being.

Jason caught a glimpse of his sister's frozen body laying upon the chest of her protector, where she was cradled in a one-handed grip as if she was baby.

Then that image was ruined by another motion of the sword which separated the Ventus's head and body from each other.

The guardian stood tall again and moved towards the most nearby wall, obviously intending to keep Thalia as close to this safe side as possible.

Then she started to make her way towards Jason and the others.

There were too many enemies for Jason to get to them, not that he could have even if he wouldn't have risked getting frostbite by moving another pace away from Leo or would have been willing to risk leaving his remaining friends to the monsters.

Instead, he could do no more than fight as hard as he could to force the monsters to focus upon him, to distract them, to sap the strength of the raging storm of monsters which kept assailing his sister's protector who kept moving closer.

And it was with a sickening feeling in his guts that he caught a glimpse of every other time that a monster got a hit upon her protector. However for some reason, she refused to go down. A horse- shaped Ventus slammed against her with what seemed enough force to make a car crumble like tinfoil, a werewolf bit her, several humanoid Venti send lashed at her with whips of lightning and there even was a Gegeines who left her leg literally mangled but nothing seemed able to stop her. At least no pain was.

However it was only after Khione seemed to call another set of frozen spikes from the earth to kill her, that Jason finally had an opportunity to recognise his ally.

Her appearance was surprising, to say the least.

A cuirass made of black iron and limbs which had a skin from copper. Both metals had been scratched and were torn in numerous places and where this skin had been broken it revealed the twisted muscles which had been made from wreathed roots and numerous strands of ivy. Her sword was long and heavy, like the blade of a horseman, but it was far broader and clumsier than the swords he was familiar with. This made it more like a late-medieval two-hander than something which could be associated with a member of either the Roman or the Greek Pantheons.

Furthermore most of her head was protected by a helmet from the same blackened iron as her cuirass and sword. This helmet was a rather primitive looking skullcap which failed to hide its owner hair and face.

The shoulder length strands of her hair were likewise made of numerous thin roots and strands of ivy, but unlike the almost clean plants which were exposed wherever her copper skin had failed under the onslaught of violence, these strands were stained with a mixture of sooth, mud and oil which gave them a black colour.

Furthermore her face was crafted as a facemask made from white porcelain. This showed the familiar, beautiful features of a woman's face which were set in a permanent small, self-confident smile. She lacked eyes in the conventional sense of the word. Instead the eyeholes of her mask were illuminated by a brown, chocolate-coloured light.

Lastly her body was stained with crimson and gold, but it was solely a golden fluid which came seeping from her wounds which therefore betrayed that her muscles were powered by Ichor.

Jason's first thought was that Juno had come to help defend herself, but then he remembered the way the avatar had cradled Thalia to her chest and he dismissed that thought again.

He heard enough in the camp and from Thalia to realise that there was no way that the Goddess would ever cherish his sister like her protector obviously did.

Juno had crafted that avatar to call her adopted daughter to war. Prepared or not, her daughter had answered the call.

* * *

Persephone dropped upon one knee after she felt the spikes impact upon her back, then she jumped up and spun around to stop the latest assault of an Earthborn who had grabbed a massive piece of masonry with a swipe of her sword which tore through his wrist as if it was made of clay.

A moment later the now only by a single hand supported chunk of stone fell down and slammed hard against the monster's shinbone with enough force to break it. However considering how rapidly this particular brand of monsters seemed recover from wounds, she doubted it would stop him for more than a quarter minute.

Rather than worrying about that certainty, she slammed her shoulder against a particular foolish Ventus who had attempted to come between her and the wall, which made her crush the monster between stones and metal.

A moment later she felt another massive weight slam against her back, which made her struggle to keep herself from falling and crushing Thalia.

It took less than a second before the owner of said weight threw a claw over her shoulder and dragged a set of thin lines over her cuirass which gained a golden glow which revealed that the nails had broken through the cuirass. More importantly though, the claw had stopped mere inches from Thalia's head.

Persephone reacted without a hesitation and threw her head back which slammed against the monster's head with great force, she felt the claw lose its grip upon her and shot forward in return.

Behind her the werewolf was left with nothing but the Ichor upon his claw to show for his attempt.

"If he has any sense inside his head," Persephone thought angrily, "he'll be happy with that."

The next Gegeine tried to obstruct her and Persephone evaded a three pronged attempt to grab her before she slammed the hilt of her weapon against his jaw with enough force to literally shatter that part of his head.

One werewolf which threw her a particularly foul look obstructed her path and Persephone noticed that his coat around his neck was covered with a particularly thick coat of snow.

"Almost as if he wore a dog collar or a neck brace." Persephone thought with a hint of entertainment before that impression disappeared into the customary chaos which were her thoughts in a battle.

A quick lunge made the werewolf retreat just as fast, however Persephone had neither the time nor the opportunity to finish her enemies off properly and left him, for now. Still she doubted that he would leave it at that.

However she had far bigger problems than whatever the issue was between her and some random Werewolf. Juno's golem, for all its advantages was a poor replacement for her own body.

Whilst it was bigger and stronger than she had ever been, that was where all benefits ended in her own opinion.

The body was clumsy and more importantly insensitive. Whilst this made her practically immune to pain and exhaustion, it also left her feeling as if her body had been numbed by frostbite. Every step was an exercise in balance because she knew her body would fail to recover itself in time if she slipped or fell. Furthermore, she had barely a clue about the amount of force she used with every motion and she half suspected that either her knuckles, her wrist or the muscles of this body's arms would be broken or torn before the battle would be over. It was only by using the greatest caution that she had dared to grab Thalia.

That caution was of course not offered to her opponents. Instead, she used her body's limited sensitivity to shrug off hits and then returned them with a mixture of the golem's overwhelming strength as well as her own skill and experience.

It was a far cry from her usually impressive swordsmanship but it worked, or at least it worked for the moment.

Thus she bit down and continued carving herself a bloody path towards Jason.

She had no idea how far or how long it had taken her to reach the boy but eventually she did.

"Bring her to Leo," Jason ordered her upon the same tone he might have used during the assault upon Orthrys. "He can thaw her again!"

Persephone nodded in return and shot past him before making her way to Leo.

She ran past the burned bodies of several Venti who had attempted to stop Jason's companions but who had failed to reach them due to the son of Hephaestus' power.

Once next to Leo, She lowered Thalia's body carefully to ground.

Leo looked up for a moment and then raised his left hand something of a foot above the frozen girl's chest. His right hand in the meanwhile kept holding on to his woodsaw which, now that it was unsupported by his other hand, seemed to shake tremendously against the tendrils.

In front of them, Jason caught the lightning coated arm of a Ventus with his axe and slammed his fist into the spirit's face. A moment later the teenager whirled around whilst lowering the axe and raising his still folded arm protectively before him in a gesture that came instinctively, the reminder of hundreds of battles and spars with a shield. The Gegeine in front of him saw his chance and threw himself forward, perfectly aware that there existed no way in which the teenager could stop the attack of the humanoid monster.

Jason couldn't, but with Thalia safe, there was nothing stopping Persephone from intervening.

The Gegeines felt a massive hit into his chest and stepped back, looking down in confusion as if wondering how the teenager had managed to strike him. Jason hadn't, but Persephone's sword had, even if its owner still stood another ten paces behind the praetor.

Jason took a deep breath and took a single step backwards, in front of him the Earthborn felt his knees buckle, which made him slump down whilst thirty fingers scratched over the blade and hilt in desperation.

A single copper hand wrapped itself around the blade, in the meanwhile crushing the much softer fingers of the Gegeines under it, then another set of copper fingers wrapped itself around the hilt of the sword.

A second hit struck his body and the Gegeines saw a copper boot plant itself upon his thigh, a moment later the tendrils which were her muscles coiled and groaned due to the exercise. All of a suddenly he felt a lightness in his chest as if he had been freed. The last he saw was the copper clad giantess spin around and the shiny arc of her weapon, after that darkness fell in.

Behind the body of the Earthborn Jason allowed himself a sigh of relief, next to him the copper skinned body of Persephone pointed her sword in obvious defiance at their enemies.

A first werewolf growled at them whilst the circle of enemies retreated a few steps backwards.

The violence of the cold wind inside of the ruins rapidly increased and each of the monsters gained a thicker coating of snow which stuck to their fur coats or clay skin where it hid their wounds from view. It did the same to those who had fallen earlier and the two defenders notice some of those fallen beasts crawl back up and slump back to the rear of the circle around them.

Unknown to the other demigods, the memory of a different son of Gaia, the giant Antaeus returned in full force and she eyed the remaining fallen enemies warily.

A small ripple went through the lines of monsters which opposed the two of them and then Khione appeared.

However her earlier princess-like appearance was gone, the Goddess who stood there, was protected by an armour of white, opaque ice and had an expression to match her new appearance.

"What kind of creature has been called here?" She asked disdainfully whilst shifting her eyes from Persephone to Leo and back. "Has the son of Hephaestus crafted his own girlfriend?"

She chuckled softly. "Another Pygmalion after all these years? Is that why you accompany a daughter of Aphrodite? Desperately hoping for her attention and the recreation of a miracle that happened once?"

Leo cocked his head in surprise whilst trying to keep his attention split between Thalia and the bars of Hera's prison. "Who's Pygmalion?"

Khione rubbed one hand over her chest, caressing the same spot which the fire wielder's earlier blast had impacted. "I will enjoy destroying her!" She whispered whilst another icy spike shot from the frozen earth and broke off after which she pointed the weapon like a spear at Persephone.

"You ready?" whispered Jason to Persephone whilst behind Tempest reared up behind the two warriors.

Persephone nodded in return.

Jason forced a small smirk upon his face, "Then why wait until they attack us?" he asked her.

Persephone's facemask remained unchanging, but there was something in her posture that told him she was grinning.

The three shot forward and Khione's eyes expanded momentarily when she noticed the demigod, avatar and Storm spirit charging them.

Persephone was the first of the three whom everyone noticed, her seize and metal skin made her stand out amongst all, even the monsters. Tempest on the other hand only stood out due to his slightly greater size than most other Venti, however Jason, being by far the smallest of the three seemed an almost negligible threat. However dangerous he had been before, the difficulty to notice him in comparison to his companions made Jason all the more dangerous.

It was Jason who struck first, the blade of the stygian iron climbing axe pierced another skull, but the second blood was for Persephone. Not that anyone would ever be able to deny this strike when the far heavier blade of her sword performed a horizontal arc which successfully separated the upper- and lower body from a werewolf and the Gegeines next to him.

Compared to these two, Tempest seemed almost tame and harmless!

Persephone struck another Gegeines with her copper plated free hand which left his face disfigured and forcibly closed both his eyes, her sword was momentarily buried in Ventus and she was already preparing to swerve around and kick another werewolf in the face. Two nearby Venti lashed out at the Avatar with lightning whips however both found their attack ineffective. Neither of the two noticed Jason following after Persephone and jumping towards them, burying his climbing axe deep into the chest of the first whilst grabbing the leg of the second and slamming him down to the earth before finishing him off.

One werewolf tried to jump Jason whilst the boy was still leaning over his thrown down opponent and found himself staring down Persephone's blade before a sharp pain struck his throat.

An icy javelin flew towards Persephone's side and shattered when a climbing axe intercepted the weapon.

Khione swore and then pointed at the cage. "Get them first!" she yelled before calling a new spear and numerous spikes forth.

Some of the Venti who had hidden themselves in the rear lines took to the air, then the first of them fell down with an arrow in its head.

Khione blinked for a moment and turned towards the demigods at the cage, then she took a step back as well whilst exclaiming a pained cry. A single, black feathered arrow was stuck in her shoulder!

Khione reached for the wooden shaft and gripped the feathered wood before given it a hard pull.

To her own surprise, she saw the wood shatter in front of her eyes which left the tip of barbed silver in her wound.

Then two more of the flying Venti fell down with an arrow inside of them, in the meanwhile at the opposing side of the battlefield, between the kneeling son of Hephaestus and Aphrodite's daughter stood a single, furious looking daughter of Zeus.

One werewolf had already succeeded in slipping past the attacking trio and now ran straight at the archer. A first silver tipped arrow flew and hit his face where it tore through the skin just above his left eye, leaving him half blinded.

Thalia swore and ran towards him whilst placing another arrow against the side of her bow and released the missile which struck another Ventus. The werewolf jumped and Thalia rolled away, in the direction of blinded left eye whilst her empty hand reached towards her quiver.

The werewolf's claws landed upon the frozen ground and broke the thin layer of frost which covered the ground, then a shiver went through his body and he fell down whilst numerous thin red lines spread over the ground.

Thalia kept running her bow in one hand and the blood stained, silver hunting knife in the other.

Another creature, an Earthborn found his way past the three and chased towards Thalia. Said Huntress ran straight at him and then threw her dagger at his face, which made the six-armed monster fall upon his knees whilst six hands covered every inch of his features.

Thalia jumped, planting her boots upon his chest and then jumped again which allowed her to grasp the first floor of the wall. Another moment later she stood high above most monsters, heroes and goddesses and nocked another arrow.

Another Gegeines was blinded when her arrow struck his face, a werewolf fell convulsing upon the floor with an arrow through his neck, several Venti fell like dying projectiles from the sky amongst their allies before the remaining members of their kind who had dared to attack her fell to the whirling hunting knives of the Lieutenant of the Hunt.

The tide seemed to have turned again and for a single moment the demigods dared to hope for victory.

Then a loud and visual shiver went through huge spire which contained the king of the Giants.

To each of the parties it seemed as if either Kronos or even Chronos himself had intervened, that single moment between the rumbling and quivering of the spiral... and the moment it crumbled.

There was nothing which could be done, not to help it or to stop it. None of them could remember to move, all they could was watch it with a horrified fascination as they stood there. The weapons of Hera's defenders poised to strike whilst the claws, tooth and limbs were likewise prepared for the expected death blow.

There was a loud crack, a small gap in the stone spire which appeared and which expanded in a matter moments. The stones at lower half of the crack crumbled with a loud rumble, at the top however, they did not fall, the stones literally exploded and rained back down like a murderous hailstorm.

Then the king of the giants appeared, his back first as his body materialised from the dark gap like a forbidden imitation from a butterfly escaping its cocoon.

It were the monsters who reacted first and crawled backwards, whilst lowering their eyes, keeping them away from gigantic figure.

Even Persephone, Jason and Thalia, all three veterans from some of the harshest conflicts known to the mythological world felt that they could breathe a little bit easier if they took another step away from the giant.

Porphyrion was a gigantic being which towered high above even the strongest of the present werewolves, Gegeines or Persephone's avatar.

Still, despite being over forty feet tall, it was not his seize which made him impressive. It was that the giant radiated strength and power, as if everything around him was made of porcelain or glass and he could shatter all without even trying.

It was a terrifying feeling, to be reduced to mere mice in the presence of an elephant.

Like all of his species, Porphyrion was humanoid from the waist up and clad in brass armour. However this brass was riddled with numerous different shades of brass and the shape of some of these discolorations seemed too regular to be coincidental. This suspicion of the three demigods was further supported by the numerous pieces of armour and weaponry which had been interwoven through the numerous braids of his long, green hair. The giant was not wearing the brass as armour, like the weapons which had woven in his hair like jewels, these were either sacrifices or trophies... and he had hundreds of them.

Persephone had seen pictures of the giants before, or rather she had seen mosaics and paintings which had been crafted by mere humans, mortals who had never been forced to witness the terror of such creatures and who as such were unable to portray anything close to the threatening atmosphere which even their mere presence could induce.

Even Antaeus who had called himself a giant was no more than a poor, even laughable imitation of the real beings. Even Kronos had seemed more human than this being.

However Kronos had ruled humanity and had been perceived by them as such, Porphyrion had not. Long ago a Greek philosopher, Xenophanes, had proclaimed that every race shapes their gods to their own likeness, both in image as in behaviour. The giants had been the gods of the monster-kind.

As such he was far more resembling of them, than anything Persephone would have described as godly. His built was not unlike a Lastrygonian or perhaps even a Cyclops and like them he was tall and heavily muscled, to the point that even if he would have been a mere six feet tall still would have seemed strong enough to strangle a bear.

His legs were scaled and drake-like, but seemed somewhat vague as if shrouded by mist or observed through a damp glass.

Furthermore his skin was a very pale green, like an ogre or an orc in modern fantasy.

However Persephone was not certain what she found more terrifying, his face which was skeleton-like or his eyes which had the colour of pale marble and which seemed bereft of an iris.

* * *

"Praise to Gaia!" Shouted Porphryion. "I am alive!"

The giant slowly turned his head and looked around him, seemingly unaware of where he was or had been.

The monsters which had surrounded Him, Persephone, Jason and Tempest lowered their heads until each of these hit the ground.

Even Khione sank upon one knee, whilst stabbing the butt of her icy weapon in the earth and lowering her eyes.

Porphyrion gazed upon his followers for a single moment, then a pleased growl escaped his throat and he told them "Rise".

"Speak, Goddess!" He ordered Khione with a calculating gaze, as if he was wondering whether it would be better kill her rather than trust her. "Why are you here?"

"I...I helped your mother deceive the Olympians." Khione whispered whilst keeping her head down, none of the demigods missed that her breathing was far heavier than before, nor did they miss the tremble in her voice when she spoke.

"That is not what I asked." Thundered the giant.

Khione swallowed visibly.

"For the chance of power which none of the Olympians would have granted me..." she whispered, "...for the respect that has been denied to me..." The goddess swallowed again and raised her head a bit up whilst closing her hand into a fist... "For the revenge I have been craving for the past millennia!" She continued and this time, she sounded far more angry and confident than before. "My name...is Khione and you might remember me from the previous war."

For a moment, Porphyrion stared at her, seemingly in contemplation of her words, then the Giant smiled which exposed numerous sharp teeth.

"Khione," whispered the king of the Giants, before chuckling. "I remember my half-brother's words."

"I remember his words well, like I remember all of his prophecies." Porphyrion continued before extending a massive hand to her. "No more words are needed."

The Goddess slowly raised her head further up and extended her own hand towards the much larger being.

"Your loyalty is accepted and will be rewarded." Whispered Porphyrion whilst raising the Goddess up to her full height.

Then he pointed his eyes at Hera's cage and her defenders.

"Your service and the sacrifice of your companions has been noted, Khione." He remarked whilst eying the captured Goddess.

The Giant smirked. "It is so good to see my promised queen again." He continued with a smirk.

A moment later he noticed the avatar of the Goddess step demonstratively in his path.

The tip of Persephone's blade drew a line through the frost which covered the ground and then she moved her index finger over her throat to imitate the cutting of one's throat.

Behind her, almost invisible due to Persephone's far larger, more conspicuous body stood Jason who had raised his weapon as well.

The giant laughed at the sight. "What is this?" Asked Porphyrion, "A desperate attempt to unite power of a Goddess and a Demigod?"

The giant chuckled loudly. "It will require more than a puppet to kill me, my queen."

He pointed his eyes at Jason. "And who are you little fly?"

"My name..."Jason whispered, "is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter the King of Olympus and the head of the Capitoline Triad."

"Excellent!" The giant roared before throwing his head back and erupting in a loud laughter. "Outstanding even!"

The giant grinned whilst seeming to take his measure of the teenager. "My servants present me with a truly exceptional sacrifice."

Both Jason and Persephone knew Piper and Leo needed more time, they could only hope that Thalia had realised the same, however in case she did not.

Jason was about to open his mouth to challenge the giant when Persephone's copper plated hand pushed him further backwards.

She focused her thoughts upon her mother, hoping the Goddess would still be able read her mind and speak the words her lifeless mask could not.

"Her name...is Persephone." Shouted Hera whilst Persephone raised her sword in the direction of the Giant's throat "and she'll be the one who brings your death, Purple one."

"So, I'll facing off against this doll of yours first?" Porphyrion asked her.

"No, not my doll. You'll be facing the avatar of my daughter, Persephone, Juno's daughter... The Monster slayer!"

Porphyrion tilted his head momentarily whilst extending an open hand in front of him, then a spear shot from the earth and he closed his fist around the shaft.

"Monster slayer, hm?" He muttered more to himself than anything else whilst ignoring the muted growls of his followers. Then his lips curled in a self-confident smile.

"Such an arrogant boast, taking pride in the slaughter of my followers in front of their greatest lord." He told her with a chastising voice. "

Well then ...daughter of the most faithful of all the Olympians," the giant continued whilst slowly raising his spear before slamming the butt spike down against the frozen underground. " **I am Porphyrion, the King of the Giants and heir of Kronos!** "

"I rose from the depth of Tartarus to challenge the Gods and faced them all in battle! I broke the staff of Hermes and slew so many of his children, Apollo was caught and thrown from the sky on my orders and Artemis hid herself away from the world in fear of my wrath alone! It was I who created the ambush which allowed us to capture Ares the God of war himself and I was the one who chased Enyo, his and your sister, off after her attempt to save him! I was the one who unshackled Typhon, the father of all monsters."

Porphyrion showed a cruel smirk and pointed his weapon at Persephone. "Just to start the war which should have given us the dominion over my mother's legacy and my imprisoned brothers and sisters in Tartarus their freedom, I stole your mother, the queen of the Gods!" He told her.

"And there, she is again. Loyal indeed, like a bitch who comes whenever her master calls."

His smirk grew even wider when he noticed the jolt which went through Persephone's body after those words.

"My husband killed you for that crime, you Tartarus-born bastard." Yelled Hera back, whilst Persephone stepped forward with her ten fingers clasped around the hilt of her sword.

Everyone heard the Goddess take a deep breath in.

"When I get out of this cage." She continued upon a deceptively calm, but cold tone. "It won't be my husband who will kill you this time though. It will be Persephone who will cut your still beating heart out of your chest and me who will impale it upon a spear as warning to everyone whether they are God, Titan or Giant!"

The giant chuckled softly in return, whilst shrinking until he was only a little bigger than Persephone's new body.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" The giant asked her with a grin. "I have heard better threats from most of the so-called heroes I slew before."

Still during that last sentence, Hera tilted her head momentarily as if listening and being surprised by something only she could hear.

"I suggest you save your breath," Hera repeated upon a cold tone whilst her daughter's body seemed to relax before imitating a choking motion with her hands around the hilt of her sword, "Your half-brother, Antaeus, made the mistake of not doing so before trying to match me in his arena."

"I can only wonder whether he was kicking himself for that mistake or merely spasming due to his lack of oxygen when the rope I had thrown around his neck was strangling him."

Porphyrion's smile disappeared almost instantly. "Just for those words," He muttered angrily. "I will kill you under your mother's eyes."

"Promises, always promises." Hera replied, but her voiced lacked the nonchalance which Persephone had most likely intended to contain. "With those and two dollars I might buy a loaf of bread."

For little more than a single moment, Porphyrion's face showed a small smile in return to her remark. The next moment, the giant charged at Persephone.

Porphyrion's spear had a far longer reach than her sword and Persephone had to step backwards whilst bringing her sword up in a rather wide slash to deflect the lunge. A small motion of the giant's wrist changed the direction of his weapon and he stabbed again and again. At the longest extent of his spear's range, none of these stabs was very powerful. In fact, Persephone suspected that she could have endured the majority of these attacks without suffering anything worse than a few, rather small scratches upon her copper skin.

However, it was far more instructional to face them rather than attempt to escape this little test. It taught her that Porphyrion was fast and had a brilliant control over his weapon. If Persephone was honest, in her current state, he was most likely better than herself.

The teenager shortened the distance and appeared to block his spear with her sword before turning the edge of her weapon a bit around to have her blade bounce harmlessly off from the wood and she took another step forward whilst attempting to slam the hilt of his weapon in his face.

Porphyrion stepped backwards to stop the handle from reaching him and raised his spear up with a rather elaborate, vertical motion, before attempting to stab her with the butt spike of the weapon. It was a nice try, but even if she wasn't as accurate or controlled as usual, Persephone wasn't missing her customary experience.

Persephone evaded the brass spike with a single whirl whilst simultaneously using the momentum of her motion to make an attempt to drag her blade through his legs. This attack failed, however if Porphyrion was honest, Persephone knew he would be forced to admit that the attack made a nice distraction because the giant stumbled two paces backwards when her elbow struck his armoured chest.

"Nice try, girl." Muttered the giant. "But it won't save you from my spear."

Persephone simply pointed her sword back in his throat's direction.

"Even if you succeed in putting my daughter's head upon a pike," Hera whispered with a mixture of worry and pride, "do you really believe that's enough to win?"

Persephone's sword lashed out again and Porphyrion parried the attack with a motion of his spear.

Persephone seemed to trip momentarily and the giant's weapon shot out instantly in return.

The girl stepped back and made a spiralling motion with her sword which caught the King's spear and pushed it aside again.

"You really think you can win, Girl?" Porphyrion asked her. "Your mother is growing weaker with every passing moment and you can't kill me, not without the intervention of another God."

No answer came from either Hera or Persephone's motionless, porcelain lips. Instead she brought her sword in a two-handed slashing motion to his left shoulder. This attack was once again stopped by the giant's spear. In this particular case Porphyrion's far greater strength made it feel to her as if she had just, unwittingly made an attempt to cut an anvil to pieces.

It didn't matter, the sword was stopped death in its metaphorical tracks and even if the weapon was shaking in Persephone's insensitive fingers, that was enough to serve the girl's needs.

Her left hand rose from the hilt and grabbed the sword halfway the blade and Persephone whirled away again whilst releasing the hilt with her right hand.

She turned the sword around with a single motion from her left wrist and grasped the blade with her right hand as well.

The next moment the hilt of her sword fell upon the giant like a hammer.

It struck his armoured shoulder hard and a metallic clang resounded through the ruin afterwards.

The giant swore loudly, more in annoyance than due to pain or actual damage. If Persephone would have had the lips and tongue for it, she would have done so as well. She had hoped to shatter his jaw, but the Giant was more than just strong, fast or talented. He was experienced as well, however unlike him though, Persephone had access to another three thousand years of the development of swordsmanship.

Porphyrion wasn't invincible, he could be outsmarted or outfought, that much was obvious to Persephone. What she wasn't certain about, was whether she could actually defeat him.

He didn't believe so and his next action made it obvious why.

The giant grasped his spear just under the tip with his right hand, like it was a dagger , then he slammed his left hand down upon the blade, piercing through muscle and skin whilst painting the weapon with golden Ichor.

Porphyrion merely grunted when he removed his hand from the blade. "Look," whispered the giant. "I ask you again, do you still believe you can win?"

The palm of his hand was still coated with gold-coloured fluid, but there was no other trace of a visible wound.

Persephone nodded.

"Then I'll entertain you a bit longer." Whispered Porphyrion before he jumped and slashed his spear in the direction of her face.

At that point, Persephone knew for certain that he was better than her, or at least he was so in this body. Thus all she had to do to beat him, was surpass herself.

Still he was arrogant enough to give her an opening, after all, why be afraid when a demigod needs the support of a "higher force" to kill a giant.

The avatar of the demigoddess evaded another stab from the weapon and then blocked a swing from the tip of his weapon with her own sword. A swipe from his fist was stopped by her raised wrist.

She took a step backwards whilst sidestepping another flurry of stabs whilst simultaneously preparing for a deep lunge at his upper arm. This would create the kind of wound that cuts through muscles and even sawed grooves in bones. At another time, against another enemy, Persephone might have hesitated for a moment before utilising a lunge that was solely created to mutilate and to cause festering wounds. Now however, it was her best hope to actually win.

Porphyrion however was capable of blocking the strike and succeeded in closing his fingers around the wrist from her left hand.

Persephone instinctively attempted to throw the giant against the ground with a swipe from her right leg.

The following moment the brown glow from her eyes behind the porcelain mask seemed to intensify even further.

Pain, that was the main thought to sweep through her mind, or at least that was what the sensation otherwise would have yelled at her.

Now it felt more muted, as if she somehow had indeed been hurt but the message of her body only reached her after a long time and after already having lost its edge.

Persephone slammed her shoulder against the Giant's chest before she made a stabbing motion in the direction of his face. It was a clumsy and desperate move, but after her earlier attempt to push him, it was enough to make him take a step backwards back.

Persephone spared herself a single moment to take a look at the leg with which she had tried to tackle him and the words which appeared into her mind would have made every mother wash her mouth with soap.

Some of the copper had been melted away, however it were the visibly exposed "muscles" of vines and ivy which had suffered the most. Both kinds of vegetation had been mostly burned away and she felt some of the remaining plants in her left leg move in an attempt to fill the gap. Still, it left her leg feeling rather uncomfortably light and less powerful.

It were not just her own legs which appeared different though.

It had only been for a single moment, but for that single moment the scaled leg of the giant had appeared remarkably different from its earlier appearance. Instead of merely a clawed and scaled dragon-like limb, it had been seemed far more...gorgon-like. Rather than bare scales, it had been covered with numerous vicious, dancing snakes. It was a very Greek image which reminded her instantly of Medusa, and some of the pictures of the Giants she had seen earlier.

Porphyrion's lips showed a small, mocking smile in return.

The teenager pushed the tip of her sword in the earth and leaned upon it as if it were a crutch.

"Tired?" asked Porphyrion with a hint of obviously fake compassion in voice.

Persephone shook her head in return and returned to a more traditional duelling posture.

For a single moment both opponents waited, then Persephone attacked.

This renewed aggression surprised Porphyrion momentarily and he was forced to take a step backwards whilst deflecting the first slash from Persephone's sword.

Knowing she could not let up, Persephone continued her assault. A first slash was followed by a lunge, a quick swipe of her blade which had been aimed at his eyes turned into a mere distraction which almost allowed her to slam her elbow against his jaw.

Persephone kept as close to the king of the Giants as she could, which turned the far greater length of his weapon into a hindrance rather than an advantage and the Giant found himself forced to take another step backwards.

This continued for another short while, Persephone kept battering at Porphyrion's defence which forced him to step backwards if he wanted to keep defending himself with his spear.

Then Porphyrion saw his opportunity and he blocked Persephone's sword with his spear and forced her to take a step backwards of her own to regain her balance.

Persephone did so and that single moment of peace gave the Giant the chance to bring his spear down and to sweep it around him.

Persephone was forced to witness the sight of the breaking and then the shattering of the icy spikes to which she had driven him.

Porphyrion smirked once again whilst behind him Khione released a breath she hadn't realised she had held in. Thalia and Jason on the other hand were unable to keep themselves from cursing the Giant. It would have been too easy, they realised that as well, but still, if it would have worked, Khione's ice might have killed the giant.

Persephone likewise hesitated for a single moment then, keeping her body as low as possible, she prepared for another lunge.

This time Persephone moved too fast, or rather Porphyrion had been too prepared and he had anticipated the strike.

The tip of his spear pushed Persephone's blade away from his body and as she shot past him and tried to regain her distance from him, the back spike of the spear tore through her thigh.

Her sword fell amidst the shards and its owner rolled away from the weapon.

A moment later the tip of the sword pierced through the frozen ground where she had crawled earlier.

Persephone raised herself up again and prepared herself for another lunge, Porphyrion growled whilst pointing the tip of his spear back at her. He knew that there would be no time to kick her weapon away without giving Persephone the chance to close the distance between them again.

Persephone tried to do so anyway, Porphyrion was only just in time to deflect her attack with his spear and then returned the courtesy with a massive right hook which shattered most of the right side of Persephone's facemask.

Persephone stared with hate filled eyes at the giant from behind cracked features of her mask.

Then she brushed her hand demonstratively over said cheek and for the first time that night, the cracked pieces of porcelain moved somewhat, as if imitating a crooked smile.

Persephone charged again, she blocked one strike of the spear with the back of her forearm and countered an attempt of the giant to kick her with his knee with her other hand, before slamming her shoulder in his belly.

Persephone fell down upon her knees whilst the giant stumbled back and rubbed one arm over his metal covered belly.

The next moment Porphyrion was forced to jump back when Persephone partially rose up whilst lashing out with a two-handed strike from her sword.

However, only a blind man wouldn't have noticed the state of her left arm. There the poison of the snakes had done its corrosive work upon the copper and the vines.

Persephone's shoulders rose and fell as if imitating a particularly deep intake of breath before she raised her sword over her head like a woodsman preparing to split a log of wood.

A small trickle of Ichor poured from between her fingers when she seemed to reinforce her grip even further, still it was obvious that the fingers of her left hand were no longer able to close themselves properly around the hilt.

Porphyrion narrowed his eyes momentarily in confusion, not understanding why the girl left her defence so open but still braced himself.

Persephone took the final step forwards and brought her sword down.

The head of Porphyrion's spear met it halfway and pushed it away due to his superior strength.

The fingers of her left hand opened a bit under the violence of the meeting and the tip of her sword started to move even further backwards and to the left. Then her left hand opened completely and she fell down whilst the hilt slipped from the grasp from her right hand. When she closed it again, the sword had already fallen out of her fist.

Persephone fell further forwards and her body struck the giant's chest.

The next moment she felt a massive push against her face and shoulder which lifted her body up and launched her against Hera's cage, thereby forcing Leo to quickly scramble away from the avatar's massive body.

"Who dared?" Growled Porphyrion whilst turning around into the direction from gust of wind.

It was a pale faced Khione who pointed her finger back at Persephone whilst two werewolf grasped her roughly.

"Look at her, in her left hand – She would have killed you!" she yelled back, before allowing a sigh of relief to escape her chest.

"She can't..." Growled Porphyrion angry whilst turning his head at the fallen Persephone.

Then his eyes fell upon her left hand and he stiffened, because there coved with the Ichor from at least a dozen scratches which had torn her fingers to shreds, lay a single, sharp edged piece of Khione's ice.

"Kill me." He continued weakly.

He pointed his eyes back at Khione. "Release her immediately." He growled at the pair of werewolves.

Several of the other wolves, Gegeines and Venti let out a collective growled and shot forward.

Persephone slowly crawled back up and fixed her eyes back at the Giant. A first werewolf fell forward and slid a few more feet over the snow with a silver tipped arrow in the back of his head. Another jumped over the body and was instantly greeted with a curved, beak shaped blade of stygian iron.

"No," Shouted a furious Porphyrion whilst he stabbed the spike of his spear deep into the frozen underground. "She... is... mine!"

The monsters moved back slowly, obviously disliking this order, but behind them Khione raised one hand and in that single moment it seemed as if the calendar from midwinter had jumped forward with several months. Even the piece of ice in Persephone's hand melted in front of her own eyes.

Jason growled whilst he kept protectively standing in front of the centurion.

Behind the pair of defenders, Leo grinned and dropped his saw before clawing his fingers with only a short distance from each other. A bright red orb appeared between the tips of his fingers and he pushed said orb against the tendrils which began to fall apart.

Thalia planted one arrow between the eyes from an equine looking Ventus before pushing her bow back into her quiver and reaching for her knife.

A humanoid looking Ventus shot at her and she jumped down, grasping the ankle of the flying monster which without a target to soften the blow was forced to slow down instantly.

For a single moment Thalia seemed to hang still in the air, the next the Ventus struck the stone floor which had been occupied by the Huntress and she released his ankle.

The Huntress dropped upon the ground floor and stabbed her knife into the back of a Gegeines and then pushed the monster into a nearby werewolf. She deflected the strike of another incoming Ventus whilst reaching for an arrow which she planted in his unprotected stomach.

Her knife whirled through the air and pierced through the numerous layers of muscles and fur of a werewolf who had tried to jump Jason.

Both her hands went to the quiver upon her back whilst swerving past the grabbing hands of another Gegeines then the next arrow was nocked upon her bow. Another Werewolf went down and then she had reached Jason and Persephone.

Her last arrow pierced the throat of Jason's would-be assailant and then she wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her dagger, placed one boot against his belly and then pulled to free her weapon.

Next to the girl, her brother felled another werewolf with his borrowed axe.

Persephone in the meanwhile had slowly pushed herself back up and was slowly moving towards the Giant with raised fists.

Still Persephone took great care in not moving to far away from Jason or Thalia, not when Porphyrion's orders had turned her in such a great "human" shield.

"Tell me," asked Hera on behave of her daughter from behind the bars of her cage, "do you think, you've won?"

A first fist slammed against Persephone's shoulder. "Do you think, your monsters will be impressed with your strength as an immortal for killing her?"

"Let them flatter you in your face and remember how your vaunted strength struggled against my daughter, a mere demi-goddess." Hera continued whilst Persephone blocked another strike. "They will remember, my daughter coming to the aid of her mother and friends and then compare it your own loyalty."

"Shut –up!" Growled Porphyrion whilst breaking through Persephone's defence with a massive right hook.

"What will they say about you, Porphyrion when you are gone?" Hera continued. "Persephone stared into the face of death and felt its icy cold breath upon her skin whilst you hid from it!"

Another fist struck Persephone face, then a second fist was blocked by Persephone's raised arms.

"Go ahead and fight, murder and burn, mock the presence she left behind, because even death cannot erase her existence."

Porphyrion's fist closed around Persephone's throat and the giant raised his victim up until her feet were no longer able to touch the ground.

He reached for his spear when he caught a glimpse of silver from the corner of his eye and then yelled out in pain when the dagger pierced the side of his head.

The giant took two more steps backwards whilst the owner of said dagger grabbed Persephone's arm and desperately pulled at the limb in an attempt to move her away from the King.

Jason on the other hand positioned himself in front of the pair of female demigods and closed his hands around the handle of the axe.

"So that's it!" he thought in himself.

"Yes," whispered Hera's voice inside of his head, "this is it."

The boy instinctively moved his head towards cage and was just in time to see the prison collapse upon itself and an obviously rejuvenated Hera walk out of the remains.

Hera's skin was just as alabaster, and her hair was just as long and dark in colour as Persephone would have remembered it. Her bare arms were no longer riddled with scars and cuts and her posture was as straight as a spear.

However not unlike before, Hera held her scarf up to hide the features from her face although she kept it no longer wrapped around her face.

For a few seconds she kept walking like that, growing in seize with every step. Then a single growl escaped the Goddess' throat and she launched her shawl at the King of the Giants.

The shawl flew straight at the giant as if it had been wrapped around a rock, however unlike what would have happened if that were the case, the scarf kept turning and wriggling as if it came alive.

Somehow as if driven by an unknown instinct the boy simply couldn't look away from the thrown shawl. A sickening satisfaction settled in his stomach when he realised his earlier impression had been correct.

In the course of mere moments Jason saw the soft surface of the shawl become a short, rough fur, folds separated and became legs, small fringes turned into claws or fangs and finally cloth motives became eyes which were lit with anger.

Porphyrion had no more than a single moment to stare in horror before a spider the size of his arm fell upon his shoulder and stabbed it's fangs in his neck whilst claws began cutting into his legs and cuirass.

The giant grasped one leg of the spider and pulled, the monstrous animal gave a loud, panicked screech when Porphyrion tore the leg off and began scratching and biting all the harder in an attempt to bring this prey down.

Hera on the other hand shot straight for the Giant, a first werewolf attempted to stop her and found himself jumping at the spear which she had conjured. It was an almost mechanical action, Hera pointed the weapon, felt the werewolf fall upon it, removed her hand, the werewolf slid a bit further down the shaft and then she closed her hand just above the werewolf's fur whilst the animal slid even further down the weapon.

A Ventus flew at her with an obvious fear in his eyes and she whirled around whilst grasping her spear with both hands and then slammed the shaft like a club against the spirit's side. The Ventus struck the wall and fell down, there was no comical imprint left behind in the stone but the Ventus did not reappear.

Porphyrion had only just succeeded in throwing the spider down upon the ground and finishing it off with a crushing motion from his clawed foot when the Goddess was upon him. Hera was tired and weakened after her imprisonment, but he was still far from his full strength.

"Another time... my love." He whispered whilst parrying the spear of the Goddess.

In return, Hera gave an angry growl which turned into a pained grunt when his clawed foot connected with her stomach.

Then the Giant stabbed the spike of his spear back into the ground and literally sank away, as if the previously so solid underground had suddenly changed into quicksand.

For a single moment Hera stared at the point where Porphyrion had disappeared then she shouted in anger and turned her head in the direction of where Khione had stood.

Once again, the target of her wrath had fled the field before becoming another metaphorical notch in Hera's belt.

All around her monsters were panicking and retreating and for a single moment Hera seemed to bathe in a golden light, the next it had dissipated and Hera pointed her gaze at the quickly shrinking ranks of the fleeing monsters.

"Tell the others your lord has fled with his tail between his legs, I am alive and free and will remember everything!" she yelled.

Then Hera seemed to disappear and reappear directly next to the broken body of her daughter.

"I am free, alive and safe thanks to you, my daughter." She whispered whilst brushing two fingers over the broken pieces of Persephone's jaw. "Thank you, my brave girl."

"I'll be sending you back now, back to the camp. You've most likely spared them another series of attacks by appearing here, Gaia won't be rising for at least another few months." Hera continued. "I'll be seeing you there soon, my daughter."

Next to her, Thalia had grasped Persephone's hand and stared at the now unbroken features of Persephone's porcelain mask.

"What?!" screamed Thalia, "This is the first time I've seen her in something like a year and you want to send her back!"

Hera pointed a furious glare at the bastard daughter of her husband and was about to say something when she felt Persephone's hand wrap itself around her own.

She sighed and repressed the words she had actually intended to say.

"My daughter's spirit," Hera replied pointedly, "is currently residing in the broken remains of a golem, do you have any idea how many rules I had to break to give her the chance to help me? Do you have any idea how many rules I am breaking by keeping her in this terrible state here? If either Thanatos or Hermes would find out, they'd be forced to take her straight through the gates of the underworld."

Thalia's eyes seemed to expand momentarily, and she looked about to say something but Hera cut her off. "Persephone is still alive, but she might not remain so if either of these finds out so please, let me send her back!"

Thalia hesitated for a single moment, then she nodded. "Please," she whispered with a, for her, remarkable respect to the Goddess, "send her back safely."

Likewise Hera was unusually kind when she replied to the immortal teenager, "I will."

Hera slowly moved her fingers over Persephone's eyes as if she was closing a pair of invisible eyelids.

A single shudder went through Persephone's body and then it remained still, turning it once again into a soulless, humanoid looking husk.

* * *

Reyna instantly raised her head up when she heard the soft couching from the body upon the ground.

"She's waking up." She yelled at the most nearby medic. Said medic nodded whilst placing the scrolls he had been checking for her symptoms back upon the most nearby table.

He held a single hand over her chest which promptly lid up with a rather soft golden glow.

"She alive and stable, but remains rather weak." He muttered curiously.

"What happened?" Asked Reyna whilst kneeling down next to Persephone.

Persephone blinked for a moment and then attempted to sit up, the girl's head was swaying dangerously in the process.

One pair of tanned hands instantly caught her head and carefully lowered her back down upon the pillow which she had shoved under the centurion's head earlier.

"Keep down," Reyna ordered with some obvious worry in her voice, before switching her gaze to the healer.

"She can talk," he said before narrowing his eyes, "and her condition is improving remarkably fast."

He shook his head. "I have never seen something like this," he muttered, "but I'd say she'll be fine in another hour."

"I'll remain in the area," he conceded, "but I doubt it will be necessary."

He aimed his eyes upon his patient. "The headache and nausea will fade soon enough, but refrain from excessive exercises for today and the two next days."

"Today," Persephone repeated with a tired sounding voice.

"And the next days." The boy reminded with a slight edge in his voice.

There was a small pull at the corner of Persephone's mouth in return and the son of Apollo turned his attention to Reyna, "Make certain she takes her rest." He told the praetor.

He sighed and made his way to the door of the room. As a healer he had plenty of experience with those so-called heroes who claimed to have no need for rest whilst recovering from an injury or a disease.

"What happened?" Reyna repeated before suggesting. "A remnant from one of Medea's poisons or spells?"

Persephone slowly shook her head and immediately regretted it. A wave of nausea struck her and she closed her mouth immediately.

"Mother needed my aid," Persephone whispered. "That was the only way she could get to me in time."

Reyna blinked for a moment. "It was freaking dangerous." She muttered in return. "If she had reached for you an hour earlier, you might have made a drop from several hundreds of feet!"

Persephone nodded very slowly in return. "I won't fight that."

"Good." Growled Reyna, "Now what happened there?"

"Porphyrion the Giant King has awoken, Mother believed Jason and the others could have used some help."

"Porphyrion himself is awake," Reyna said with a loud voice before instinctively covering her own mouth and throwing a quick glance at the door. Reassured that it had remained closed she turned her eyes back to Persephone.

"If he's back Gaia must already have awakened more of them."

Persephone nodded again. "Jason killed one of his brothers, Enceladus, before he reached the Wolf House."

"The Wolf House?" Reyna spat furiously, before forcing herself to take a deep breath. Persephone could see the younger woman slowly open and close her fist whilst trying to regain a control of her breathing.

Persephone nodded. "The Wolf House!" She repeated with a similar anger in her voice.

"What about Lupa?" Asked Reyna.

Persephone sighed in return. "I don't know." She admitted. "There was no sign of her there, but there were several Venti, Earthborn and at least one of Lycaon's packs."

"Khione commanded them." Persephone continued, "Or at least she did by Gaia's and Porphyrion's grace."

"The Titan's War all over again." Muttered Reyna.

She sighed. "What else can you tell me that you can't or won't tell anyone else?" Reyna asked her.

Reyna sighed again. "I can only give you a few minutes to think about that." She whispered. "In the meanwhile, I'll be calling the representatives of the cohorts. It's time to actually start preparing for this war."

* * *

It was several days later that Thalia sighed whilst she stopped in front of a house. This home was completely ordinary in its appearance, there was no sign of anything related to a deity or a mythological being. Just a simple house with a garden which seemed centered around a single large tree with a pair of swings and even a picket fence which had been painted white.

She sighed again and wanted nothing more then turn around, still she steeled herself and opened the gate of the fence before walking down the path towards the front door.

Then she heard a pair of excited voice and she stiffened again.

It only took a moment but then two young children came racing from behind the corner of the house. Both stopped instantly when they saw her and pointed at the Lieutenant of the Hunt, before yelling something at someone who came from behind them.

The man who appeared, still panting from chasing after the pair, looked to be around fifty years old.

He smiled at first, then his eyes fell upon Thalia and his smile disappeared, instead his expression seemed to gain a bit of fear and Thalia could see him tense his muscles as if trying to brace himself.

"William, Annie," he whispered, "I think I heard your grandma calling in the backyard. You should go look for her for a while."

The man stared her for another moment and then sighed, before pointing at the door of his house.

"Please, follow me." He whispered. "I think I need a chair."

Thalia nodded and followed him.

The interior of the house was nothing special, completely ordinary if it wasn't that there were some pictures of a girl who had grown up until the age of fifteen and remained so ever since that day.

Thalia stared for a few moments to the old, yellowed photograph which was the enshrined memory of one of her friends.

Thalia lowered her eyes, honestly not wanting to meet the eyes of the man.

"I am sorry about your sister, Mister Dale." Thalia started. "She was a friend of mine since I joined the hunt."

...

Thalia sighed again when she left the man behind. She made no mention of his red eyes or the fact that his voice had been stifled, and would never do so. He had lost his sister twice.

When she had walked long enough to be out of the sight of house, she put her hand into the pocket of her jacket and reached for the two remaining addresses of the families from the Huntresses who had died.

Artemis waited for her lieutenant in her chariot, but said girl showed no hint of acknowledging her and the Goddess ignored the silent barb of her half-sister. Neither Artemis nor Zoë had made an attempt to visit the relatives of a fallen friend in the past before. Part of her could understand Thalia's decision, a second part found it unnecessary, whilst a third part couldn't help but agree that Thalia was right and that she should have accompanied the girl when she brought the news to the dead girl's remaining relatives. However, old habits and pride die hard and Thalia went alone to the remaining two addresses. If she was honest, Artemis wasn't even certain whether those Huntresses would have requested these visits if she would have asked them.

* * *

 **For those who are wondering why Hera referred to Porphyrion as purple one: Porphyrion means purple**

 **Incidentally, Persephone can literally translate as bringing death**

 **Mind leaving a review?**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'd like to start with a short reply to guest reviewer Riri.**

 **Whereas I generally enjoy reviews, especially long ones I can't help but disagree with basically everything you said.**

 **First of all (considering their general behaviour) I find it hard to see the Greek gods as anything but extremely powerful humans.**

 **Secondly, apart from the fact that I intended Persephone, Jason and quite a few others to be veterans and therefore, very good in war and the directly related activities (like training others), I do think you're looking at Persephone with a far too rose tinted pair of glasses.**

 **About her easily solving all her problems, you do remember she has been working upon bringing the Fifth up to proper standards and reincorporating it in the legion for months and she still isn't finished? Upon a related note, her first actions in those regards literally came down upon searching for help (Reyna, Drew, Nico to name the most important and enduring members of this project of her) and that it was only a few chapters ago that she escaped a double attempt to getting murdered due to Bryce, a now very former and very not missed member of the Fifth cohort?**

 **As for her having no flaws except for a temper and that even that merely gives her a reputation for getting things done? This is the girl who was made to desert Camp Half-Blood and literally taught her horsemen to mutilate the faces of their enemies to put more fear in their hearts! And that was just one of the many complains about her training. I think it's safe to say she has a very poorly hidden dark side and struggles against some of the connected traits like harshness, violence and cruelty (cough... Medea?).**

 **I am willing to discuss this more in-depth through PM but I am not really worried about her becoming an all powerful Mary sue.**

* * *

 **I don't have any right upon the Percy Jackson-series, I do own Lord Protector Corvo Attano my gratitude for being the beta for this story.**

* * *

The snow had already begun to fall at the border between Canada and Alaska when the two figures appeared.

The smallest of both figures paused for a moment and stared at the nearby glacier with an almost wistfully gaze, as if she had suddenly been trapped in an ancient memory which left her with a remarkable bittersweet aftertaste.

The second, far taller figure ignored his companion whilst continuing to trudge onwards through the snow. His approach had not gone unnoticed though; several large creatures raised their heads up and pointed their long, sharp beaks at the strangers who had intruded upon their hunting ground.

Their beady red eyes were hard and their owners gave a loud and remarkable low screech before chasing forward with a mixture of jumping and gliding with their extended wings.

Only at the last moment did both creatures turn away from the Giant and shook the cold air with a few loud smacks of their wings. Both gryphons took a position upon a high rock and then stared down upon the pair with an obvious anger.

The first figure growled softly at their approach after being awoken from her daze before she clawed her hands which called several large spikes of opaque ice forth from the snow which had gathered around both intruders.

"Leave them, Khione." Ordered the second figure with a powerful, but seemingly entertained voice. "They thought we were scavengers, here to steal their meal, but they corrected their mistake in time."

Khione stared at the deceptively small looking creatures; it was little more than an optical illusion. The beasts were slender and sleek whilst their natural weapons were remarkably long and extremely sharp. "Little more than beaks and claws", that was how her brothers once had called them. She hadn't objected at their description then and she wouldn't do it now either. Monsters which are almost twice the size of lions and yet appear barely taller than a dog until they're close enough to jump you did not deserve another description.

"Do you control them?" Khione asked before adding a quick "My lord." after those words.

"I don't." Grumbled Porphyrion, obviously not too pleased with this limitation of his power. "But I like them well enough."

The Giant turned his head towards her. "They're rarely this low or as far too the north though." He continued whilst lowering himself on one knee and reaching down for something which was hidden from Khione's eyes behind a small hill.

The Giant raised himself up again and threw two objects at the griffins which like trained animals shot after the things and captured them in midair whilst performing an impressive looking spiral.

Khione ignored the crimson splatters of meat and dried blood which fell down and stained the previously unblemished white of the snow.

Both animals had retaken their position upon the rocks and were now tearing the meat to shreds with mighty slashes from their claws or by grabbing it with their beaks and then pulling it off with a motion of their necks.

"A horse?" Khione asked, although she already suspected the answer.

Porphyrion chuckled softly. "It is curious, no? How these beast kept remembering the horse riding Arimaspi and the attempts of those archers to pillage their nests."

If someone else would have asked her, Khione would most likely have admitted that she did not care about the habits and memories of these animals, but considering it was the king of the Giants who had asked her, she elected to give a more tactful answer in return.

"What reason would your mother have to send them here?" Khione asked him instead.

"Most likely she wanted them to defend the border of Alcyoneus' domain." Porphyrion suggested. "After the original attempt to resurrect him was botched, he did awake but he wouldn't have been capable of defeating so much as a single kitten."

The Giant King chuckled softly at that thought.

"I imagine they might have been useful during the attack of that expedition from the Roman camp." He added thoughtfully.

Khione smirked after that remark. "I imagine they were." She admitted. "A shame they'll be no more than a deterrent in this war."

The Goddess pointed her eyes at a small heap of snow and the raised her hand slowly in a gesture that was rife with magical power. The small heap of snow rose up in reaction to her gesture like an erupting volcano. A small wave of ice, half frozen water and snow flowed out like lava and then began whirling around like a maelstrom. Two clawed feet appeared from the gathering of ice and water, then a long, sharp beak peeked from the puddle. This head was soon followed by a sleek body which carried a pair of massive wings.

Khione stared at her latest creation before turning her head back to the originals and narrowing her eyes whilst alternating her gaze between the opaque monster and the living animals.

"It's...adequate." she eventually muttered.

"An impressive creation." Porphyrion corrected with something akin to admiration. "Your new mount and bodyguard?"

"I don't see why not." Khione admitted. In reality, the creature had been far more intended as something to capture the king's attention and some more of his favour than anything else, but it was good suggestion.

She mounted the animal like an Amazon and led it further towards the king.

"Will it take much longer before the others arrive here as well?" She asked the Giant King.

"I doubt it." Muttered Porphyrion, he chuckled momentarily. "I am not know for my patience and it is not as if most of them have something important to do."

A soft, somewhat human sounding growl came from them. "It requires time and inspiration to create marvels, brother."

The owner of this voice was a (for a giant) fairly small figure. He was only twelve feet tall and had legs which consisted out of a pair yellow-eyed snakes which were mostly concealed by a pair of black pants. Like Porphyrion, he had green hair, but unlike the numerous weapons which had been scattered in his brother's hair, his was braided with numerous silver coins. Khione noted that each of these coins was marked with the image of an owl.

"So the stories are true." She muttered with a fairly limited interest.

The smaller giant stared at his king and brother with a fairly obvious anger, then the giant made a small, but respectful bow.

"Ephialtes." Porphyrion muttered, before chuckling softly and placing one hand upon his much smaller brother's shoulder. "It is good to see you again."

Ephialtes retained his earlier angry expression for a few more moments, then he too chuckled.

"It is likewise good to see you again." He admitted. "It is hard to arrange a feast in your honour when the recipient is missing."

Porphyrion chuckled again. "Where is Otis? It is strange to see only one half of a pair of twins."

"He's back in Italy." Ephialtes explained. "Someone needed to keep an eye upon Arachne."

The Giant shuddered momentarily after those words. "Useful as she is, I sincerely wish that Mother never found that she-thing within the bowels of Tartarus."

"It is only a matter of time now, brother." Porphyrion reminded his brother with a soothing voice.

"I doubt she will allow herself to be so easily removed." Muttered a cold, dispassionate voice.

"Clytius." Muttered Ephialtes with some obvious annoyance.

Said giant was far taller than the first half of the set of twins. Not unlike Porphyrion, Clytius' legs appeared dragon-like however unlike his king, Hecate's opposite's appearance barely contained any colour at all. Dark and black or even encased in shadows was how anyone would describe him. Whether it was his skin, the colour of his legs or the armour which he had hidden beneath his robes, everything about him was black. The only exception to this rule were his eyes, these were of an unusually bright blue colour, however this was not the colour of a warm, tropical sea, instead it was a colour which instinctively would remind everyone of ice. If Porphyrion resembled a warlord, then this brother was the dark, magical overlord of a particularly grim world.

Khione had felt small and powerless at the appearance of even a weakened Porphyrion, but this Giant scared her far more. Porphyrion was powerful and imposing and according to the stories he had been more than able of being cruel or unpredictable, but despite that Porphyrion had seemed reasonable, a being that would rule or rather lord over them. Clytius on the other hand seemed far colder and despite his obvious intelligence, the Giant seemed far less reasonable than the others. He was like a fanatic who would broke no compromise or appeasement. He would either get his way or would rather see the entire world destroyed rather than reshaped in accord to anything less than his own perfect standards.

Khione instantly feared him and she suspected that she wasn't the only one.

Even Porphyrion's posture betrayed a hint of nervousness.

"You brought a Goddess here." He muttered whilst pointing his cold eyes at Khione. "Why?"

Khione took a deep breath, somehow she suspected, she was in far more danger from him than she had ever been from Porphyrion.

"She helped mother awakening me and saved my life!" growled Porphyrion.

"She..." Clytius began until Porphyrion cut him off.

"She...saved...my...life!" Porphyrion repeated threateningly, whilst carefully pronouncing every word.

For a single moment both Giants were staring at each other with a clear indication of future violence in their eyes, than Clytius looked away. Still Khione could tell that the conflict between them hadn't been resolved, it was merely postponed. Both giants knew that neither of them could rule nor see his vision made reality without breaking the power of the other one. At this moment, the two of them needed each other, but if that need would disappear...

Khione was very much hoping that Porphyrion would be victor of that conflict and if she judged Clytius correctly, she doubted she would be the only one.

"My, my, do these eyes of mine deceive me? Or am I really seeing so many of my brothers after all this time?" A male and rather soft voice asked with an unusually soothing quality to his words.

Khione turned her head to the voice and blinked in surprise. There, at a little over hundred feet away from them stood another massive, male figure. This giant's body was made of metallic gold-like material that was further adorned with numerous jewels. His own dragon-like legs had obtained the red colour of rusted iron. Lastly the giant had a brass skin and red braided hair which seemed stained with numerous jewels as if they had fallen from the sky like snowflakes.

Alcyoneus stared at the small gathering and then pointed at the ground near him.

"Join me, brothers." He told the Giants with a loud voice which had an unusual echo as if every word he said was spoken through a hollow, metallic barrel.

"It seems we now know where the border is." Porphyrion muttered with a hint of humour in his voice.

Khione hesitated for a moment before following the Giants. She did make it a point to keep either Porphyrion or Ephialtes between her and Clytius.

"Alcyoneus." Porphyrion prompted whilst placing both his hands upon the shoulders of the second tallest son of Gaia.

"It is good to see you again," Alcyoneus whispered before adding "young one" with a teasing undertone in his voice.

Porphyrion chuckled softly in return before strengthening his grip upon the older Giant's shoulder.

Alcyoneus stared back into the younger giants eyes in defiance until a momentarily hint of pain shot over his features. But short as it was, it had obviously been there in the eyes of all.

That momentarily admission of his weakness was enough for Porphyrion and he released his brother's shoulders again.

"Where are the others?" Asked the king, "I know I heard Orion's voice mere moments ago."

A mere second later a single arrow the size of a javelin shot past the head of Porphyrion and Alcyoneus.

"The two of you should take care to keep your guard up." Replied the same friendly male voice as before. "Even if Alcyoneus retains his immortality upon this ground."

There was a soft rustling of leaves and branches and then a tall man in a camouflage-outfit appeared from between the trees. Even after seeing him appear, Khione could barely say where it was that he had hidden himself earlier.

"If I was Artemis or one of her Hunters," Orion continued upon the same friendly tone which was now accompanied by a dazzling smile, "some of you might have been returned to Tartarus."

Alcyoneus however seemed less than impressed with Orion's smile.

"That is why I asked you and your mutts to scout the area." He reminded the hunter. "To protect us from assassins and scouts, not to take pot-shots at us!"

Orion simply gave another smile in return.

However the smallest and most human looking member of the Giant-family then turned his eyes upon Khione and once again, the Goddess found herself take an involuntary step backwards, to the protection which was provided by Porphyrion's presence.

Orion snorted in return and pointed his brass, mechanical eyes at the king momentarily before pointing them back at the Goddess. She could see the focusing rings upon his bronze sclera spin around and then click whilst the targeting lasers flashed from red to green.

Orion slowly brushed his hand over his black bow whilst seating himself down, it was slow and soothing motion, almost akin to the way you brush your hand through the coat of a dog in an attempt to calm the animal down whilst it is preparing to attack.

It hadn't been often the case over the years, but with both Clytius and Orion so close to her, Khione felt a remarkably and uncomfortably warmth. It was not a feeling she liked, far from it.

Then in a reply to that uncomfortable feeling she slid from her griffin and seated herself upon a rather low icy throne whilst keeping the creature between herself and the archer.

"I had Lycaon and his own pack flush the periphery out." Orion told Alcyoneus with a soothing voice. "Over thirty of his oldest, strongest followers and the majority of his forty-nine remaining sons."

The giant smirked softly. "I can't wait to face Artemis and her Huntresses with this pack."

He paused for a moment "or Lupa." He muttered softly, as if only just realising the possibility. "Yes, Lupa." He repeated with his customary smile.

He blinked for a moment when he realised that everyone was staring at him.

"What?" He asked them in return with a notable hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Polybotes? Did you see any trace of him or the messenger from the Titans and the others?" Porphyrion asked him with a tired voice.

"He'll be here in a few moments." Orion replied with a calm and seemingly uncaring voice before showing them an obvious smirk. "It was highly entertaining to see their interpretation of stealth though."

Porphyrion smirked and nodded at Alcyoneus who raised a single arm up which led to several throne shaped stones rising up from the earth.

Each of the Giants took his seat whilst waiting for the approach of their last brother who was currently walking upon the earth and those which would accompany him.

Like Orion had told them earlier, it did not take long before a small column headed by two massive figures arrived.

The first and by far the taller of the two was Polybotes.

This Giant showed a great resemblance to his brothers, Alcyoneus and Porphyrion. However unlike these two his green hair contained no weaponry or jewels, but living basilisks which were hissing and slithering as if he was the hitherto unknown father of the Gorgons.

The other however was not wearing a breastplate (which was adorned with numerous monstrous faces) or carrying a weapon like his companion's trident.

Instead this inhumanly tall man wore an expensive looking tuxedo which stood in clear contrasted with the long ponytail in his dark hair or the numerous scars upon his face.

"A pleasant evening, uncles." He said with a kind and patient sounding voice whilst making a small bow which was just deep enough to be genuinely respectful.

Then he pointed his eyes at Khione and smiled again. "I am sorry, my dear." He muttered whilst making another small bow and reaching for her hand upon which he pressed a swift kiss. "I hadn't noticed you or otherwise I would have greeted the only lady in this company as first."

"Prometheus." Khione growled between her teeth whilst making an obvious effort to wipe her hand off to her dress.

Prometheus nodded momentarily after witnessing her reaction but he otherwise showed not so much of a hint of either surprise, hurt or entertainment afterwards.

"It is good to see you again, _cousin_." Porphyrion muttered whilst adding a threatening tone to his words during this exclamation of kinship.

Prometheus ignored the obvious threat in Porphyrion's voice and smiled softly. "I bring you my regards, as well as those belonging to Oceanus, Aigaios, Epimetheus, Lelantos, Melione, Pomona, Janus and the others."

"It is quite obvious why you don't mention the regards of some of those others like Atlas, Iapetus, Hyperion, Krios, or Koios." Growled Porphyrion.

"You sound disappointed, uncle." Prometheus mentioned whilst sounding rather casually. "As if we surprised you."

"You betrayed us, you cost us part of our army and worse you might have cost us the advantage of surprise!" continued Porphyrion. "If it wouldn't have been for the betrayal of the Titans we would have had the majority of both the Gods and the monsters at our side during the assault upon the unaware Olympians."

"Would you have done differently than we had, if you were in our position?" The Titan asked him calmly.

"Perhaps not," admitted Porphyrion, "but we were not in your position!"

Prometheus smiled as if he had just gained a victory. "Indeed, but more importantly there aren't many gods who would have been willing to support us if Gaia would have made her appearance."

Prometheus smiled momentarily whilst raising his hands in surrender before he continued talking. "It is true that we rose up prematurely, contrary to our agreement, but war itself is far more impetuous and reckless by its very own nature than it is calm or obedient."

After those words Prometheus smile disappeared. "We did not rise up and shed our blood in war to replace the unjust reign of the Olympians with the ever-present crushing nature of Gaia's." He growled angrily before staring the King of the Giants in the eyes.

"Did I misinterpret our agreement all those years ago?" He asked upon the same tone of voice. "Would we rise up to become mere servants or even toys to your mother, rather than become the rulers we were meant to be?"

Porphyrion snorted. "I doubt there is so much as a single soul here who would wish for such a fate." The King muttered before pointing his eyes Clytius. "Even you would not wish such a fate, is it not brother?"

Clytius stared at his younger brother with a cold gaze which made the King smirk due to his own interpretation of that look.

Porphyrion's smile had brightened a bit when he stared back at Prometheus.

"Thus you and the others began our revolt early in the hopes of not needing Gaia's aid?" He asked the Titan without lending credit to that possibility for so much as a single second.

"So we wouldn't be in need of her aid and could prepare for a confrontation with her and her own allies if that was necessary." Prometheus corrected him.

A small indication of Porphyrion's cruelty seeped into the Giant's smile.

"At least that last sentence contained some truth," he thought, "especially since he and Kronos would most likely have made it so it would have been the Giants who would have formed the majority of Gaia's more powerful allies."

Still Prometheus was right about at least one thing, neither he nor the majority of the remaining Giants was eager to discover what kind of future Gaia envisioned for the world, nor what their place would be in this "paradise".

However with the current lack of numbers of Titans at this side of the doors, he couldn't afford to make a proper example from the Titan of Forethought, nor any other Titan.

Thus the Giant resisted his urge to lash out and instead decided to show himself magnanimous.

He made a great show of sighing and shaking his head before straightening his back against the rear of his throne.

"At least you had the courage to look me in the eyes after your mistake in judgement." Porphyrion told the titan whilst absentmindedly removing the blade of a spear from his hair.

He pointed his eyes back at the Titan whilst standing up from his throne, then the king took a first step towards Prometheus. After that the giant shrunk with every other step until he was the size of Prometheus.

"You made a mistake." Porphyrion repeated whilst holding the speartip like a small dagger. "Tell me Titan of Forethought, do you know the difference between a mistake and an error?"

Prometheus blinked momentarily.

"I do." He admitted.

"Then tell me, did to Oceanus, Aigaios and the others make a mistake or an error when they refused to come here and send you in their stead?" Porphyrion asked him and this time he did allow some of the anger he actually felt to seep into his voice.

Prometheus took a deep breath and paused whilst staring at the Giant who seemed to test the sharpness of the blade upon the palm of his left hand.

Then Prometheus lowered his head.

"They too made a mistake..." He whispered whilst bowing again, "my lord."

Porphyrion hid his actual glee and instead dropped the blade just before the head of the Titan where it hit the dirt.

"I am not going to punish you for your actions, Prometheus." Porphyrion muttered whilst returning to his throne. "Nor the others, no matter how much you would deserve these."

He seated himself and smirked. "Besides considering the rumours I heard, there is not a lot I could do that you and your relatives haven't already brought down upon yourselves."

"Two killed, one back to his punishment underneath the burden of the sky, one trapped in a maple tree and another robbed of his memory and brought into the service of Hades before he could even leave the underworld!" Porphyrion reminded him.

Prometheus sighed in return.

"I trust there is no need to reminisce upon those mistakes." Porphyrion suggested.

"I ...would...prefer...that." Prometheus admitted grudgingly.

The Giant stared down upon the Titan and smirked. "Then relax, Prometheus. "He said. "Everyone is allowed to make a mistake _once_."

"There will be no second time!" Prometheus added rapidly. "Our actions were a mistake, not an error!"

"Good. " Porphyrion muttered whilst leaning back into his throne.

The Giant King pointed his eyes back at every single member of his companions.

"Then tell me, what has been salvaged from our original plan and what has been learned from the previous War between the Gods and the Titans?" He asked before letting his gaze rest upon the sole Titan.

"What is the state of your remaining forces?" He began his questions.

"King Antiphates has returned to the majority of his own forces which have been gathering at the coast of the Sea of Monsters since the call went out for him to assemble the forces of Lamos." Prometheus said whilst he pointed at a few rough looking humanoids who had accompanied him.

"Our king's horde has been growing since his return to the mainland." The ogre answered with a rough voice which would have sounded aggressive and uncouth to a human's ears.

"More ships arrive every day from the islands to renew their pledge of loyalty to the great king." He growled before kneeling in front of Porphyrion. This example was instantly followed by the other Laistrygonians who had accompanied him. "He sends us to offer his own pledge and that of the other Laistrygonians who follow him to the greatest lord.

Porphyrion smiled at that. "And I accept both gladly." He replied whilst removing several swords from his hair strands.

"Take these, give one to your king and accept the others as a gift from your true lord. They carry the blood of the demigods who once wielded them. It is time that their taste for this blood gets rekindled."

Several surprised and obviously pleased grunts and growls rose from the small number of Laistrygonians whilst these reached for the high quality weapons which had been handed to them.

"How many of these Laistrygonians are there under Antiphates' command?" Porphyrion asked Prometheus.

The Titan took a deep breath. "Honestly, I don't think anyone except for your mother can know the answer upon that question." He admitted. "There are maybe twenty camps containing up to nearly a thousand of them but there is at least twice that number of smaller camps."

"Furthermore," continued Prometheus. "There are hundreds of smaller and larger bands of Laistrygonians roving through the States. Currently we are trying to coordinate these into keeping the demigods locked up into their own camps."

Prometheus smiled softly. "It is fair to say that despite their casualties during the Second Titan War, the Laistrygonians have never been stronger or more united than since your arrival."

Prometheus allowed his smile to expand momentarily. "I think it is reasonable to say that Gods and their allies will find themselves greatly surprised by the numbers of the Laistrygonians if they believe them defeated after the setback of the previous war."

"That is good." Porphyrion admitted with some surprise whilst he pointed his eyes at Alcyoneus and Khione in a silent attempt to seek their council.

Both nodded with a hint of a small smile upon their faces which reassured the Giant King.

"What about the others? The Dracaenae, Hyperboreans, Empousai, Telekhines, Centaurs and Cyclopes?" He asked.

"The Hyperborean giants escaped the confrontations with very limited losses," Prometheus started. "The losses of the Centaurs and Empousai were far more severe but not to the amount that it will cripple their efforts." Prometheus continued whilst pointing to a few representatives of these species. "Most of them have joined the bands of Laistrygonians who are wandering through the states."

"The Telekhines on the other hand have mostly returned to the ocean; however Oceanus and Aigaios have ordered a few schools of Telekhines to remain in the area of the Camps." Prometheus smiled momentarily whilst fixing his gaze upon the frozen lake, however this time no representatives of this species appeared and the Titan sighed once.

"And which species did receive heavy loses?" Porphyrion asked them, already having noticed the trend in the summary.

"The majority of the most ancient sea monsters were defeated and killed to obtain the victory at Atlantis." Prometheus admitted. "Whilst they have continued fighting Poseidon and his allies ever since, it is fairly unlikely that their efforts will decide this war."

"With other words," Porphyrion muttered, "until the gates of Tartarus are opened. There is no way to contest the control over the seas and even afterwards it might take us years to retake everything that was lost due to your haste."

"I believe that it ought to be my right to complain about the effort to retake what will be my domain." Polybotes interrupted his younger brother. "And yet I don't."

Porphyrion stared momentarily at his older brother whilst hiding his own annoyance.

"As tempting and satisfying it might be to strangle Poseidon, his children and their allies slowly," Porphyrion reminded him, "Do not forget what fate wrought for us to make us pay for our arrogance and overconfidence three thousand years ago."

Polybotes nodded in return although the Giant King doubted his words would be taken by heart.

"The Cyclopes?" Porphyrion asked, continuing his interrogation.

"The northern Cyclopes have suffered rather heavy loses thus far but not in such numbers that it might impede their contributions and whilst it might take some time to gather them again in large numbers, this is greatly augmented by the fact that most of their kind are currently focused in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois." Prometheus continued calmly. "We withheld the southern cyclopes from participating until now. These will provide us with the necessary muscle for the war."

Porphyrion ignored his explanation about the why they choose to keep the southern Cyclopes out of their own war, the real reason was far more mundane: Those Cyclopes were far wilder and wouldn't have obeyed the Titans, Gods or their representatives unless they kept a continual (and extremely powerful) eye upon them. Whereas they would be willing to obey a Giant, there was no way that the _more civilized, less monster-like_ Titans would receive the same respect.

"What have you and the other Titans and Deities done in expectation of this meeting?" Porphyrion asked the Titan.

"The majority of our own current efforts has gone to our goal to reunite the Dracaenae who scattered after the dead of Queen Sess." Prometheus told him. "We believe we found several candidates for the duty of leading them although none of them is singlehandedly capable of replacing Sess at the moment."

"Who's the most important of them?" Porphyrion asked him.

"Naga." Prometheus said. "She's one of the oldest members of her kind."

"She was the one who followed Alexander's army to India, is it not?" Khione remarked with some curiosity.

"I can't recall that name." Porphyrion muttered curiously. "You know of her?"

"I know of her." Khione admitted. "She's quite famous amongst her kind."

The Goddess chuckled for a moment. "And rather infamous amongst demigods."

"Why?" Porphryion asked her.

Khione pointed her gaze momentarily at Prometheus who smiled at her in return.

"Naga is one of those types who keeps rising to the top whenever the world is in turmoil." Prometheus explained. "She commands a war band of several hundred dracaena with which she tends to establish a small realm of her own. Whenever there is turmoil, she opens up the gates of her kingdom and sets out for war. She's ruthless, cold and calculating, but more importantly she is a gifted killer and a leader who has only visited Tartarus a few times since her birth."

Prometheus paused to smile. "If I am honest, I admired her far more than Sess, she would have made a far better queen and I have no doubt that unless Sess returns soon, she actually might find her throne taken from her."

Porphyrion nodded. "How long do you think we would need to gather the majority of our forces for a confrontation?" He asked them.

"Three months at the very least," Prometheus guessed, "More if we want to march at full strength."

Porphyrion growled. "That is too long, far too long if the Gods use this time wisely!"

"Three months would make us strike around the feast of Fortuna," Alcyoneus remarked whilst sounding rather pleased. The Giant exchanged a look with Polybotes. "That matches Medea's earlier prophecy about the threat to Rome."

"Medea is dead!" growled Prometheus who, for the first time, actually sounded agitated. "I wouldn't rely upon her prophecy just because it suits your plans."

"Medea has been resurrected by mother and Tartarus." Alcyoneus corrected Prometheus with a rather smug expression.

The Titan however had schooled his features and showed no hint of this earlier aggravation when replied.

"I know that, uncle," Prometheus muttered. "She owned a store named M's in Chicago."

Alcyoneus stared at the Titan. "Than what is your point?" He asked him.

"I was speaking in the past tense for a reason, uncle!" Prometheus replied. "She's death, killed by the four heroes and their pets who bested your brother as well!"

Alcyoneus and the majority of the other giants stared at Prometheus momentarily, obviously taken aback by this information.

"Mother will have her rise from the dust again soon enough." Muttered Alcyoneus rather careless.

"That won't be happening either." Prometheus replied which made everyone in the premises stare at him with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. "I had some of the monsters under my command go through the rubble that remained from her store."

That remark about rubble was one more detail which made the gathered monsters, Giants and Goddess wonder about the extent of that particular confrontation.

"It seems like the demigods had her sit down upon the throne which Hephaestus designed to capture Hera when they killed her with her own poison." Prometheus continued with something of admiration in his voice. "She won't be rising up until either that throne is destroyed or she goes through the entire circle of rebirth within the confines of Tartarus and passes through the gates of Death again.

Prometheus stared at the others. "Naturally, she won't be gifting anyone with another spell or prophecy for what might be centuries." He confirmed.

Prometheus took a deep sigh. "If I am honest I can't say I mind it that much. I have seen what happens when someone follows a prophecy blindly. If your mother does so, it is at her own peril, but I am not willing to take that particular risk."

"If what he says is right than we should get in contact with Pasiphae and Phineas instantly." Muttered Polybotes clearly audible to Porphyrion which did make Prometheus narrow his eyes momentarily.

"Perhaps." Porphyrion admitted whilst giving the Titan a quick look-over. "But I tend to agree with our cousin, as useful as those prophecies might be, I'd prefer to create my own chances and opportunities rather than merely wait for the future to unfold."

Porphyrion closed his fist with a notable crunch which gave indication of his own anger. "Remember? Three thousand years ago, the confrontation between Gods and Giants which would break the power of a great family?" He asked them. After those words each and every member of the Giants growled in agreement.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Orion asked in return.

"We keep to Mother's plan for now." Porphyrion ordered, "Even if it would be only to pretend we are her loyal followers."

"As for the rest, it will depend upon how the Gods and their own followers react." Porphyrion decided.

He pointed his eyes at the Goddess next to his throne.

"You and Prometheus have the most experience with them. What do you think is going to happen?" He asked them.

It was Khione who took the opportunity to re-establish her own influence upon the Giants first.

"Most likely far less than what you fear, my lord." She said.

Porphyrion showed her a small smile as if he wondered to what amount she could know his fears but he said no word.

"Most of the Gods are confident in their power, to the point of arrogance. They have known of the presence of some of your brothers and so many monsters for the past centuries and did nothing at all." She started. "Most of them will dismiss the possibility of a threat if they can be given an excuse to do so." She pointed her eyes at Prometheus. "Furthermore, the recent experience of the Titan war left them paranoid about treason; it is a very fertile ground to plant another seed of those."

She took a deep breath and pointed her own eyes at Orion. "Hera, Ares and Artemis will argue about the threat, but the second is generally ignored whilst the latter will most likely be more interested in revenge upon Orion if an indication of his presence can be found, rather than make a sincere effort to wage a war."

She licked her lips momentarily. "There is the possibility that Athena will argue for a war though." She admitted with a hint of worry.

At that point Ephialtes chuckled rather smugly.

"She won't." He said whilst reaching for one of the coins in his hair. "She has already ordered another of her spawn to go searching for her dummy."

The Giant's laugh gained a cruel edge. "I doubt she'll be thinking clearly before The War has ended."

Prometheus nodded. "If there is anything which we discovered throughout the previous war." He said. "Then it was that most of the Gods are no longer the fearsome warriors they once were."

"Their half-breeds," he continued instantly, as if he was afraid that someone would ask why it was that they had lost the Second Titan War, "have become all the more so though."

"What do you suggest we do about them?" Porphyrion asked him. "What ways did you find to fight them efficiently which you lacked throughout your own war?"

"We should start with isolating them!" Prometheus said, putting a lot of emphasis upon the second to last word.

"Turn them upon each other and sit back whilst the Olympus will tear itself apart." Prometheus continued. "Whilst our original plans failed at doing so at the time, it was highly effective and there are other opportunities and possibilities."

"And what would you suggest to start with?" Porphyrion asked whilst withholding a smirk of his own.

"We would need to shift our targets temporary." Prometheus began. "It aren't the battle hardened Greeks or the well trained Romains which we can manipulate at the moment. Instead we should focus upon the most vulnerable faction."

"The Atlanteans?" suggested Polybotes. "It should be an easy to create malcontents if its capital has been turned into ruins and so many of their kind were killed."

Both his most powerful brothers, as well as the Titan shook their heads in return to this remark.

"The Amazons, brother." Orion corrected him, whilst simultaneously giving his bowstring a lazy pull.

Then he cocked his head momentarily. "I guess that's why Mother forbade me from attacking them for the past fifty years."

Prometheus nodded in return. Once again the Titan showed not so much as a single hint of surprise. "The residents of New Themiscyra are far more numerous than those at Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood." Prometheus continued. "But unlike either of these, they played no role of notice in the Titan War. Whilst some of their warriors are well trained and battle hardened, the majority are inexperienced, arrogant and far more familiar with their own propaganda than actual war. It should not be difficult to entice them into beginning a conflict. Furthermore their queen is young, rather new to her task and therefore she lacks the support and reverence which her predecessors had."

"I agree." Alcyoneus muttered whilst he stared off into the direction of Themiscyra. "It is rather unsettling no?"

"What is unsettling?" Asked Porphyrion whilst turning his head towards his oldest brother.

"Pasiphae's current bodyguard," Alcyoneus growled, "is Otrera, the former queen and founder of the Amazons."

Porphryion nodded in return. "Fate, preparation or mere coincidence?" He asked whilst musing over the possibilities. "It makes you wonder how much Mother has planned in preparation of this day."

Then the Giant shook his head in anger.

"We should not allow ourselves to get overawed." Growled Porphyrion, "Mother made mistakes too, she can be deceived, outwitted or misunderstand things. That's why we involve others as well, there is no way she can prepare for everything and every possibilty!"

"Indeed it is," muttered Clytius with a cold, almost distracted voice, "but there is no reason to underestimate her."

"What are your orders for the remaining camps of Demigods?" Khione asked Porphyrion.

Porphyrion stared of in the distance for a while. "Isolate and lock them off for the moment." He ordered eventually.

"We will follow Mother's directions for now," Porphryion admitted. "Give Otrera access to the means she deems necessary until we judge otherwise. If possible, I'd let the Amazons initiate a conflict with the Romans before we have to risk an assault upon their Camp with our own followers."

"Keeping even a mere two camps isolated will require a lot of bloodshed." Alcyoneus mentioned almost casually, "a full assault will demand even more."

"You want to unlock the Doors of Death completely?" Porphyrion asked him calmly.

The Giant King paused momentarily and then threw his gaze upon the glacier.

"Under how much pressure are Oceanus and Aigaios?" Asked Porphyrion before eying Polybotes.

"After Hades, Zeus, Ares and Enyo came to Poseidon's aid in the aftermath of Typhon's fall?" Prometheus admitted grudgingly. "The gates to their own realms are almost open and the majority of their army is either retreating or locked in rearguard operations."

Porphyrion knew Poseidon wasn't powerful enough to take the domains of the two Titans over, but unless Prometheus was severely exaggerating their troubles, another three months might allow the Earthshaker to do enough damage to knock both of them out of the War. That would free the Atlantean forces again and that could tip the odds back into the favour of the Olympians.

Porphyrion sighed and pointed his eyes back at Alcyoneus.

"Prepare to open the doors of Death a bit more, but don't draw the attention of the Gods for at least another two months. The previous war was lost due to haste. We will act when **we** are ready, not when our enemies are so."

Porphyrion took a deep breath. "The major sea creatures will be given precedence so they can reinforce Oceanus and Aigaios. Our remaining followers will be allowed to return at a slower pace compared to them so this gives no indication of the extent of our plans and means to our enemies."

He pointed his eyes at Polybotes. "I know you're eager to face Poseidon, brother." Porphyrion admitted. "But satisfy yourself with the Roman Camp until the time comes to face Poseidon."

Then he pointed his gaze upon the former humans and Demigods who had returned when the Giants had created the first opening between the Gates of Death.

"Go back with Prometheus and Polybotes, and find a way to prove yourself worthy of this new existence." He growled at the hooded humans who had accompanied Prometheus.

He turned his back at another group of monsters, the Venti. "Find Iris and capture her or lock her up into her own domain. Withhold her from performing her duties!" He smirked momentarily. "We'll see how well the Gods and their servants are capable of working together if they can't contact each other."

"What are your first orders in regard to the Olympians?" Prometheus asked him.

Porphyrion pointed his eyes first at Khione and then at Orion.

"See to it that the majority of the Olympians fail to believe in my rebirth for now, but make certain plenty of rumours about it start spreading." He ordered them whilst rising from his throne. "If you deem it necessary, make it seem like an aftermath from their war against the Titans which was constructed with the help of Hecate, Prometheus, Enceladus and Orion with the aid of Boreas and some monsters. Encourage their rashness or insecurity so they can't unite and act against us until we are ready!"

Then he growled. This was a loud, monster-like sound that contrasted with his earlier calm, almost human like behaviour.

"Do you understand?! All of you, you will work to divide them, to weaken their commitment, to rattle their nerves! You will circle around them and stick to their flanks, confront them with the death of thousand cuts and then only then when they are divided, when their hope is gone and their morale is approaching the breaking point, then we will strike and destroy them like we should have done three thousand years ago!"

* * *

At the council of the Olympians, their king was far less pleased than the Ruler of the Giants.

The lord of the sky slammed a fist down upon the gilded table around which the majority of the Olympians had gathered.

"I have told you all before and I will remind you again!" thundered the King of the Olympians whilst the winds which surrounded him began to howl. "Olympus will remain closed off!"

"If some of you need to leave to perform your duties then you'll have to do so at a later time, because I will allow no more interventions in the affairs of the mortals!" He continued whilst disregarding the disgusted gaze of numerous deities.

"I lost nearly a dozen of my Huntresses due to that order!" Artemis yelled back at him whilst scratching her nails over the desk of the table.

Zeus looked scathely at her after those words. "If those girls of yours can't survive for few months without a Goddess watching their backs you should have kept them safely within the borders of Camp Half-Blood." He growled back.

"My girls wouldn't have been out there," Artemis returned upon a much softer, but no less angry tone of voice, "if it wouldn't have been for your wife!"

Zeus snorted. "An excellent example of why every one of you should accept this temporary isolation." He concluded with a calm, almost sage-like voice.

"There is little we can do about Gaia's stirring, but she has stirred before." Zeus reminded them before he continued speaking with a mixture of annoyance and resignation. "It happens around every conflict of note and it fades away, eventually."

The doors of the hall were thrown open by a violent force and the gathered deities pointed their eyes at the cause of said intrusion.

Two more deities entered the hall. The first was a tall goddess with dark hair that had a, for a Goddess, remarkable ragged appearance, as if it had been cut by a knife during a short, spare moment. Like her mother whom she currently preceded, her eyes were brown in colour, but hers appeared to be of a far lighter hue and seemed to contain a literal fire. Again unlike her mother she sported a notable tan which could only have been attained by spending the majority of her time outdoors.

The last contrast with everyone else in the room with the exception of her brother, Ares, was that Enyo was marching into the room whilst wearing the majority of her war gear.

These were, in particular for a Goddess, remarkably utilitarian pieces of equipment. Pauldrons, a cuirass, greaves, gauntlets and sleeves of mail from simple bronze which despite their obvious high quality were virtually unadorned with embellishments. Likewise the pteruges which covered her lower body were made of black leather which was far finer and sturdier than a mortal animal could have produced but even the brass studs which weighed the strips of leather down were left unadorned of figures or symbols.

A tattered looking cloak with a black colour and numerous grisly looking stains had been wrapped around her shoulders and covered the majority of her back.

Furthermore there was a rather short, leaf-shaped sword which hung upon her left hip whilst a long whip had been wrapped around her belt at her right.

The last piece of her equipment was a Corinthian hoplite helmet which lacked a crest, said piece of armour had been propped under her arm by the Goddess whilst entering the hall.

Like all Goddess, Enyo generally appeared in the guise of a particularly beautiful woman, although unlike the majority of them, it was rare for her to emphasise her appearance, her interest lay in other areas.

It was as such that none of the Olympians showed so much as a hint of surprise about the fact that Enyo, the destroyer of cities, entered the hall with features which were still stained with dust, ash and blood or hair that was caked together due to sweat. What did surprise the other deities was that she entered the hall at all. Her domain and attitude made her a Goddess to whom few showed much liking, her refusal to come to the defence of the Olympians during the battle with Typhon had made her even less likely to receive any affection. However despite proclaiming that she had done so due to her own delight in the conflict and her desire to prolong it for as long as possible, her mother and favourite brother had been aware of the sudden appearance of a female legionary named Duella during the siege of Orthrys.

The Goddess was openly smirking at the looks which some of the gathered Gods and Goddess threw at her whilst walking forward.

A smirk which grew a little wider when she felt the hand of her mother upon her shoulder whilst accompanying said Queen to her seat.

Unlike her daughter, Hera looked as poised, regal and unapproachable as she generally did. There was not so much as a single clue about the possibility that she had edged the border of Tartarus during her imprisonment or a visible indication of the fact that she been robbed from most of her powers to the point that only Hebe, the weakest of her immortal children wasn't stronger than her.

"I see you all decided to start this discussion without me." The Goddess noticed calmly whilst making a waving motion with her hand which made a throne rise up in the space between Zeus and Ares.

Most of the Gods were staring at the Queen with a very humanlike fascination due their expectations of a rather nasty outburst.

Seemingly unaware of that idea, Hera walked calmly to her throne and seated herself whilst Enyo positioned herself only a few feet behind her mother. The woman had placed her helmet next to her feet and crossed her arms in front of her chest whilst leaning against the wall as if she was Hera's bodyguard. She had a small smile upon her own lips and it was rather obvious that she was daring anyone to speak up and to question her presence there. Not too unlike his favourite sister, Ares sported a very similar smirk as well whilst gazing at the remaining Gods and Goddesses in the hall. It was obvious that he was looking forward to the outbreak of a conflict caused by his sister's presence or his mother's arrival and her most recent adventure with an undisguised glee.

Simultaneously however, the smile which he had given both new arrivals made it obvious whose side he would support if someone dared to react.

None did though.

"Please," Hera began, "tell me what you are planning to do against Porphyrion?"

"The Giant King is dead!" Zeus growled whilst the winds grew stronger, "Me and Heracles killed him three millennia ago!"

"I saw him rise with my own eyes," Hera objected calmly, after all those millennia she was no less aware of her husband's temper then she was of her own. "So did your son Jason, _his sister_ , his girlfriend and... Leo Valdez."

Nobody missed her clipped tone when she mentioned Thalia.

"Incidentally," She continued with a far more kind voice whilst turning her head towards Aphrodite and Hephaestus. "They're good kids, you two might want to keep an eye out for them... although I would advise against listening to them unless Valdez learns to keep his mouth closed."

Her smile disappeared when she aimed an undisguised glare at Zeus.

"And please," She asked him, "how would you explain what we saw then?"

"What did you see, Hera?" Zeus asked her in return whilst the wind seemed to die down. "From what I assume you have seen, you and the majority of those children were trapped in an area which was beyond our power. A construct erected by magic from a Godly and Titan origin. "

Despite the rather reasonable tone which the King of the Gods had employed to make this remark, the scoff with which he succeeded that sentence robbed his words from their earlier reconciliatory sentiments.

Zeus sighed. "I doubt you're lying when you're telling us you saw Porphyrion's resurrection. But it is impossible. They simply casted an illusion to take our attention away from the real threat, Gaia or just to set us upon the wrong track."

"Unlike most monsters, Titans, Gods or even Giants, it requires specific rituals to do so much as to influence her dreams, Zeus!" Hera countered whilst showing a hint of the annoyance she actually felt.

"Gaia hasn't risen, she is not even close to rising at our current point, but she might become so if we don't act! Ignoring the problem or shutting us away from it, will not be able of solving it. We've done so for years only to cower again and again in the hopes of nothing happening!"

Hera had not intended to shout, she had honestly wanted to present her case calm and dispassionately whilst letting her arguments do the work for her but somehow she had started screaming after that first sentence."

There was a soft, ice cold voice whispering in the back of her mind which spun stories of her failure and its consequences. And Hera acted like she always had when confronted with her fear or by resistance in general... by either verbally or physically curb stomping it.

She heard Zeus counter it by emphasising the magic which had temporary locked the Wolf House off from the rest of the world. The God argued about the Demigods who sided with the Titans and the help which the Giants had provided at times.

When Hera tried to use these last attempts to support her case, Zeus argued about how inconsequential these actions had been and how easily he – and his son Jason- had bested Enceladus. He temporarily forgot the hypocrisy of this action- he had forbidden everyone from leaving the Olympus, just like he forgot that, in Jason's opinion, this victory had been far from easy or a certainty.

The remaining Gods sat there, torn between shuffling rather uncomfortably due to their witnessing of this spousal dispute and supporting either of the two, this last was either out of the desire to get away from the Olympus, their belief in the arguments of one of the two arguing deities or and that was at least as important, merely their dislike of the King or Queen from the Olympians.

It did not take long before the argument about Porphyrion's existence expanded far beyond this question and went on towards Zeus opinion that Hera's imprisonment was merely a remnant of the previous War against Titans, one that was sprung by one of the remaining rebels or even one of the "previously treacherous deities" and the way he kept hammering upon the word witchcraft made it rather obvious he was actually talking about Hecate.

When she brought the intervention of Khione up, Zeus simply replied that he himself would take care of the lords of the Wind and their spawn, since they were his domain!

In the end, the most spectacular decision which was taken were his orders to refocus the attention of the Hunt upon Orion and Lycaon whilst Poseidon was given permission to leave the Olympus to take control of the war within the confines of the Oceans. Artemis would also be given leave to rejoin the Hunt if they found the Giant Hunter or if they required her aid. The Titans and Gods who had taken the side of Kronos and his followers would be made aware of his displeasure, but no action would be undertaken. It was a poor solution which made nobody happy, not Zeus for the concessions he had made and certainly not the others who rightfully noted that except for Poseidon nothing had changed. Hera was the least pleased of all. She had been imprisoned, come close to dying and had lost most of her strength and for what? To be disbelieved as if she was merely a hysteric madwoman, to be locked up in the golden cage which was the Olympus?!

She threw Zeus her most furious glare when she stood up and left at the ending of the meeting.

"I take that it didn't go as you imagined?" Aphrodite remarked upon an almost casual tone after Hera had left the hall.

Hera bit back a snarl when she turned her head towards the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Aphrodite's current appearance seemed to mirror Hera's own looks greatly, which gave her a pale complexion and long, dark hair which fell in down in a cascade of ringlets. However unlike the other Goddess, Aphrodite seemed younger and lacked the innate strictness which was so typical of Hera. As she currently appeared, Hera was the strict queen whilst Aphrodite resembled the far kinder princess who was most likely the love-interest or the poor, imprisoned victim of the fairytale.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Hera asked coldly although neither her tone nor her anger was actually aimed at the other Goddess.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes momentarily, then she smiled coldly. "A thank you for sending my daughter and the others out for you would be appreciated." She said with a rather obvious glee.

Hera's glare became far more personal in a matter of moments.

The other Goddess observed Hera carefully whilst Enyo placed a cautionary hand upon her mother's shoulder.

Then she turned her head to one of the nearby corners behind Hera and her daughter.

"If you would, sweetie?" She asked seemingly to nobody in particular.

Merely a moment later, Hera felt a wave of hot air strike her back.

She whirled around instantly whilst Enyo did the same.

The cause of this warm breeze was a huge, deformed man who was leaning against the walls from the corner of the hallway. A few traces from the flames which had caused the earlier warmth were lingering in the bush of his beard. After a moment of staring at his mother with dark and rather angry eyes the God attempted to straighten his back, something which seemed physically impossible due to his deformed physique.

Then he turned around and walked away again whilst accompanied by the creaking sound of his leg braces and a brass automaton in the shape of a woman who provided him with the necessary support to walk.

"What?" Hera asked her curiously whilst Aphrodite made a motion with her hand which closed each of the windows in the hall.

"You might not feel so angry or afraid, after that."

Hera stared at Aphrodite for a moment.

"Why would that be the case?" She asked whilst torn between feeling irritated and curious.

"I felt a cold wind throughout the meeting." Aphrodite told her in return. "Usually that wouldn't bother me too much, since your husband is the Lord of the Sky, but there have been too much meetings between my daughter and the winds of the north for me to trust in a mere coincidence."

"You think Khione influenced me?" Hera muttered annoyed.

Aphrodite raised her hands up in surrender. "Considering the way the wind seemed to sway at the tone of your confrontation with your beloved husband, I am certain it influenced it in some ways."

The Goddess of Love fixed her eyes at the pair of deities. "Can you say for certain it did not?"

Hera's first reflex was to deny, a second, more careful thought made her hesitate to do so.

"I am not certain." She admitted eventually with an obvious unwillingness. "Although that would explain quite a bit of my husband's behaviour."

Aphrodite sighed, but nodded nonetheless, whilst she doubted that Hera was honest in claiming that wasn't certain about being influenced by another deity, she was quite certain that the Queen would be upon her guard against another attempt like that.

Hera pursed her lips momentarily. "I'd guess I own you some gratitude for sending your daughter... and mine to my aid."

Aphrodite smiled, obviously pleased by the admittance but then waved the gratitude away.

"Don't mention it," she said, "It is not as if I had no reason to aid you ... Especially since I asked your daughter for help to protect my own girl rather than to help you specifically."

"Perhaps, but it is not as if it didn't help us both."

Aphrodite smiled.

"Then perhaps you could do me another favour?" Hera asked her which made both Aphrodite as well as Enyo smile due to the poor attempt at manipulation.

"What favour?" the Goddess of beauty and pleasure asked her in return whilst raising a single eyebrow in return to the question.

"Nothing too dangerous or painful." Hera reassured her. "Just give Hephaestus my gratitude for allowing Leo to go... and for helping with his fire."

Aphrodite paused for a moment. "That," she said, "is something you ought to do yourself."

"Besides," She said added with a hint of resentment. "I try to evade his company whenever possible."

Hera sighed in return.

"You could do me another favour," Hera offered then, whilst showing a rather austere smile. "This one might have a lot more severe consequences if you're caught."

"You do know how to entice a woman." Aphrodite muttered depreciatingly before sporting a rather mischievous smile.

"It will involve breaking some rules for me, and then me tearing even more orders from Zeus to shreds." Hera explained.

"You do know how to entice a woman." Aphrodite repeated, this time sounding far more intrigued.

Hera chuckled softly. "I need you to borrow something from Athena whilst I have Ares ...distracting her."

"Distracting her?" Aphrodite asked curiously and with a hint of entertainment in her voice which made clear that her thoughts had gone into a direction for which Athena would be willing to bash her head in.

"You've seen her eyes, she's once again obsessing over her bauble." Hera reminded her. "I might have asked Ares to make a few remarks about burning wooden statues and monkeys wearing golden rings and the like."

Aphrodite chuckled in return. "Chaos, I hope Hephaestus is taping that!"

"He has just posted a preview," whispered Enyo conspiratorially and with an obvious glee, "and thus far it seems as if my brother is dominating the confrontation."

"What do you need and will it help you regain some of your power?"

Hera smiled in return. "Just a little something my husband's bastard-daughter reminded me of." She paused momentarily. "And to do something my adopted daughter is going to love me for."

* * *

"Cold!" Was the first word which Leo shouted when his head reached the surface of the lake.

It took only moments before Jason and Piper likewise reappeared from the depths.

At the edge of the pool he noticed several teenagers wearing orange T-shirts and he paused for a moment to stare at them. They gaped back in return until Leo felt a quick slap against the back of his head. It wasn't a hard one, at least not hard enough to hurt but it did succeed into waking them up from his temporary stupor.

"Jason," Leo told the Roman boy with a calm voice whilst staring at his face, "I really don't like your patron."

He shivered momentarily. "Nor her sense of humour." He added.

"She might not have intended for us to be dropped into this pool." Piper suggested which made both boys stare at her with wide eyes.

"She might have," Piper repeated but it was rather obvious that nobody, least of all she herself believed her words.

The three former Dragon riders swam to shore whilst more demigods came running from the nearby building.

"Tell me," were the words which Chris muttered as he offered Leo, who climbed out of the water the first towel, "will you always be going for a swim whenever you enter the camp?"

Leo angrily muttered something that nobody but himself could understand and started walking towards the Arena.

After that, Chris grabbed the shoulder of one of the nearby children of War and told him to gather the other leaders in the Arena.

Then he reached for another towel which he handed over to Jason. Said boy accepted the towel before passing it along to Piper and using the remaining towel for himself.

"Since you three fell into the lake after appearing out of nowhere I take it that you succeeded in your mission." Chris muttered half amused.

Jason nodded in return.

"Right, then before you tell everyone about it, did you find your memory, Persephone... or Clarisse?" he asked him in return.

"We met Persephone," Jason confirmed, before he smiled, "and I remember everything ... even my sister."

"Your sister?" Chris repeated with an obvious surprise and some joy in his voice.

"Congratulations." He said whilst giving him a friendly slap upon the shoulder.

"And Clarisse?" He asked with a much softer voice, obviously asking the question of which he desired the answer most of all whilst he was simultaneously terrified for what a confirmation would lead to."

Jason shook his head. "No, I still don't. I know barely a thing about her, nothing recent at least. I am sorry."

Chris sighed and shook his head in return before turning his back upon Jason and walking to the Arena with slumped shoulders.

Jason stared at the boy for a moment whilst instinctively reaching for Piper with his most nearby arm and pulling her by his side before nudging her cheek with his head.

"Jason?" the girl asked, surprised but obviously pleased by his administration.

"I am just so happy that you're still with me," Jason muttered, "when I see what he goes through."

...

...

The three Dragon riders entered the centre of the Arena.

Jason couldn't help but mentally scoff at the name though.

The Arena was a large place, but unlike the massive building back in the Roman camp which dominated the city, the Greek amphitheatre was far less impressive. A cleared, flat piece of land which was more or less circular and which was merely surrounded by several, rising tiers of stone benches. Not even a proper wall which would allow the fighters the chance of taking on animals or captured monsters without endangering their spectators.

He sighed. "No wonder," he couldn't help but think, "that Persephone had liked to face some opponents in their own arena that much."

He doubted that the Greeks ever had been willing or able to throw some proper games in this rather sad excuse for an amphitheatre. Supposedly, if he recalled some history lessons from high school correctly, the concept of an arena had been created by simply doubling the original semicircular theatre. If that was true (and he doubted most of what that idiot had ever told him about basically everything that hadn't been about him not wanting to teach them), it was quite obvious that Camp Half-Blood had never evolved beyond that primitive stage.

He shook his head after the thought. Whatever he was supposed to do, verbally expressing or even thinking those thoughts was not going to help him, especially not if his girlfriend was a Grecian herself.

"So what happened?" Asked Annabeth, one of the few demigods who had not taken a seat upon the stone slabs. Next to her, Chiron was trotting up and down the length of the lowest benches.

"Well," Leo started with his usual, impish grin, "we left the camp, kicked some Giant ass and freed Hera, and thus...we won."

Piper and Jason had the decency to look sheepish. The trio of arrows which struck the dust in front of Leo's feet made it rather obviously what some of the children of Apollo were thinking of his storytelling skills.

"I regained my memory and we met up with Persephone twice," Jason added rapidly whilst giving Leo a little slap at the back of his head to signify his own annoyance.

"The long version is a lot longer and more complicated." He continued calmly. "You will want something comfortable to sit down."

Jason threw a calm look at the surrounding Demigods. "I know I want so for myself and the others as well as something to drink."

A soft chuckle rose up from the majority of the Demigods, although this laugh was rather acrid for some of their audience. A minority of the Demigods was looking at Jason with a renewed interest. This Jason behaved rather different from the more confused and demure teenager who had entered the Camp for the first time. Unlike then, this Jason was showing confidence and seemed to project himself to the front instinctively and if they judged him correctly, not without some familiarity to such attention. Even the little joke was a useful addition to what was basically making certain that the meeting took place upon his conditions and to take the worst sting out of his demand.

None of these more aware members had missed the fact that he positioned himself rather closely to exit either or that throughout Leo's and his words he had kept his body pointed in this direction as if to prepare for the necessity of making a quick retreat.

Especially the representatives of the Athena cabin were looking at Jason with an obvious suspicion.

It was Jason who told the majority of their story, only switching to Leo or Piper when it was their part of the story to tell, not that either of them protested. It was only when Piper mentioned the appearance of a demigoddess in Medea's store and her revelation of a purple shirt akin to Jason's that there was a notable reaction: the majority of the demigods were instinctively tensing. However it was a moment later when Piper revealed that said girl had told her that the witch was the legendary Medea that distrust turned into a loud disbelief.

It was Jason who silenced the gathered demigods by calling a quick, loud wind down before any of the other Greeks or Chiron could intervene.

Again this disturbance was nothing in comparison to the racket when Piper revealed that Medea had claimed Gaia as her patron and the cause of her return.

However after Jason had taken over and resumed the story at the point that Medea had fallen down with a sword in her back and the swearing demigoddess had joined them that an instant silence fell.

It was Annabeth who spoke up first, exclaiming the name which some of the other demigods had only dared to hope for. "Persephone," she said whispering but somehow audible to all whilst pointing her eyes at Jason with a mixture of hope, pleasure, obvious confusion and shame.

Jason nodded in return and continued their story.

He could feel everyone gaze upon him when his words revealed that Persephone had been familiar with the then amnesiac boy.

A silence fell and it became rather obvious that every single one of the demigods was torn between jumping up and calling him a liar and demanding a proper, very extensive explanation from him, and having him continue the story.

It was Leo who spoke up whilst Jason took a sip of water.

"You know," he said, "the next part is even better. Massive spoiler, it's got Dragons."

Some people laughed nervously, but everyone kept staring at Jason.

Jason stared back and for a single moment showed a half-entertained smile.

"Well," he said, "it does." Then he continued their story.

"It was Persephone, all right." Muttered Annabeth whilst smiling sadly, seemingly reminiscing about their shared past. "I was there with her when we entered the underworld to save her mom."

Next to her, Luke was shuffling rather uncomfortable upon their shared stone slab.

However it was the revelation of "Persephone's" newfound, adopted mother that did baffle the gathered campers whom Nico had never made aware of the identity of Persephone's patron.

"Gods," Annabeth muttered, "unless he's mistaken, Thalia will whip up the storm of the century when she finds out."

"My sister is already aware, Annabeth." Jason replied with a tired voice, "and trust me, she wasn't happy about it."

The majority of the older campers who were more than familiar with Thalia and her renowned temper and equally renowned disdain for the Queen of the Gods sniggered loudly in return.

Annabeth's own expression was not that much more pleased than Thalia's had been, the daughter of Athena had her own issues with the Olympian Goddess. Fortunately for the messenger though, unlike Thalia, Annabeth was not capable of calling a lightning storm down upon the latest object of her ire.

"How the Hades is it possible that it is Hera of all goddesses who picked up Persephone?" She openly wondered. Annabeth raised her hands up in a frustrated gesture. "And of all the possible Deities, why her?"

Jason on the other hand made careful notice of this reaction and if he was honest, the Roman was more than a little bit surprised about the amount of disdain both his sister and now Annabeth, as well a few of the other Greeks were demonstrating towards Juno. Agreed, she rated rather low upon his own list with people and immortals which he liked and she hadn't been that loved by the Romans either, but even so the Romans held her quite obviously in a far higher regard than these Greeks did.

"Am I missing something?" Jason asked Piper.

It was Chiron who answered him instead.

"As the protector of marriage, Hera has never been very popular among demigods to whom she often refers as bastards or crimes against her domain or the marital oaths from their parents." Chiron told him.

"Furthermore over the centuries she has taken it upon herself to punish some of these children for their parent's lack of loyalty." He continued.

Then he pointed at the nearby daughter of Athena. "Annabeth, Persephone, Thalia, Nico, Grover and Tyson all met her at least once." He said whilst sounding thoughtful. "I wouldn't have thought that any of them left the Labyrinth with a good impression from Her."

Jason shook his head in return. "If that was the case, it has thoroughly changed for Persephone." He replied. "I've seen how they interact. Trust me if I tell you that Persephone cares greatly for her."

He paused momentarily. "And so does Juno, she cares enough to restrain herself ... somewhat when talking with the Demigods of even her own husband."

Chiron stared forward in silence, trying to imagine what Jason had told him. It was hard to do so although her affection for her own natural daughters and Ares was well known.

Then he decided to dismiss the ideas for now, although he sincerely hoped for Persephone's sake Jason was right.

The immortal centaur sighed and then he nocked an arrow with a gap though its head upon his bow and aimed that at the sky, away from any nearby campers.

A sharp, high-pitched sound shot through the arena which, despite Jason's opinion of its state, had been designed to allow the spectators to see and hear almost anything. As a result the majority of the demigods winced instinctively although this was more a force of habit rather than an actual result of pain.

Still the centaur made it a point to search his own quiver for another of the signal arrows before letting it demonstratively slide back.

"...Shall we continue listening to their story?" Chiron asked with a far too friendly tone of voice for someone who had just had unleashed the ancient equivalent of a firecracker upon their ears.

Everyone, including the three dragon riders nodded whilst staring at the signal arrow with some obvious wariness.

Jason took another slow sip of his drink and then continued his tale, well he told them most of it. Minor details like the why of Piper's dad (or his identity for that matter) being captured by Enceladus were wisely kept unsaid. The boy did not doubt that some of the older, more experienced or simply the more cruel and cunning campers would easily see through his omission though.

Even Chiron seemed to rest his gaze upon Jason and Piper for a few moments after the jump from Enceladus to the House of Wolves. Still neither of the two showed so much as a single hint of uncertainty under his gaze, nor underneath the eyes of the others. By contrast when some of the other, more impressive looking campers pointed their gaze upon Leo who, small and cheerful as he was looked like he would be a far easier target to crack, the boy showed them a bright smile in return. A moment later he began juggling with small fiery orbs.

That in combination with the more personal nature of this absence for Piper and the impression of carefully controlled anger and violence which went out from Jason was enough to make the most of them realise that the answer was not worth the danger of asking the question.

Jason could read the eyes of the majority of the Campers like others would read a book.

War! They had already known it was coming; now they had it confirmed. Some of the older ones were almost looking relieved although this relief contained little happiness, just the tired resignation of people who knew a disaster had been approaching and which has been finally revealed, others sighed with a silent, disappointed acceptance of the fact. Lastly there was a small minority, generally the representatives of the youngest and newest campers who were obviously torn, numerous emotions shot through their eyes: fear, curiosity and even excitement.

It was so incredibly easy to see the lines which divided camp Half-Blood.

He sighed, Hera – no, not Hera! Juno- had sent him here for a reason, and whether he liked it or not, he did believe she was right.

"I'll admit I don't know where Clarisse is at the moment." He began, "but I know for certain that Lady Juno did send me here for a reason."

Jason paused for a moment.

"You already know I am no Greek." Jason reminded them whilst exposing the mark which had been burned in his lower arm.

"However I do serve the same gods, although with other priorities."

He took another deep breath and then made small bow. "With my full memory restored to me, I would like to introduce myself again and officially now." He said.

"My name is Jason Grace, son of Jupiter the lord of the Sky and champion of Juno, which are better known to you as Zeus and Hera." Jason began. "My official ranks were centurion of the Fourth cohort and Praetor of the Twelfth Legion."

He fixed his eyes upon some of the most distrusting members of the Greek Camp. "To my enemies," he continued with a cold tone of voice, "I am the Slayer of the Trojan Sea monster, Bane of Krios, Defeater of Enceladus and Conqueror of Orthrys."

After those words he smirked with an obvious self-confidence, then his eyes lost this earlier challenge and hardness.

"To my friends," he said with an obvious smile, "I am merely Jason, the Lightning Boy."

"Superman is fine too." Leo interjected after which he was promptly punished by having the earlier mentioned Lightning Boy zap him relentlessly and like Leo soon discovered, the arena wasn't big enough to get out of the other boy's range. His (half-amused) cries for mercy were ignored by all.

"I see." Chiron said eventually whilst staring at Jason and Piper. "I know why Piper and Leo are in the camp, they belong here. But why are you still here as well?"

The immortal centaur paused momentarily whilst most of the demigods were staring at him.

Chiron opened his mouth to say something, then he changed his mind and closed his mouth again as if he had tried to imitate a fish.

"I am sorry." Chiron said eventually whilst bowing his head to Jason. "That came out wrong; despite the history of the Greeks and the Romans I have no desire for another conflict between the two Camps, small scale or not."

These words made several Greeks stare at Chiron in wonder, before they narrowed their eyes at Jason again.

Jason simply chuckled in return. "None taken..." he paused momentarily and stared the centaur in the eyes. "It is strange, no?"

Chiron showed a sad smile in return. "It is." He admitted.

"Why were you send back to Camp Half-Blood?" Chiron asked him after a few moments.

"The Giants are rising and Juno knows that we Romans don't have the strength to beat them on our own." Jason admitted after a few moments and his expression made it obvious that this confession was hard to make, especially in front of the Greek demigods.

He pointed his eyes at the Greeks who had encircled him. "Is there even a single one of you who believes that it is different for the Greeks?"

There were plenty of denials... at first, but then these outcries quickly quietened down. There had been too many battles with monsters since the end of the Titan War, to many struggles, too many conflicts in the camp itself and far too little changes to hope for better. They had already discovered that Orthrys hadn't collapsed upon its own due to Kronos conveniently being a load-bearing boss, thus why continue to proclaim what you don't even believe in yourself.

There had been plenty of denials, but most of these had been little more than outbursts to sooth their own wounded pride and there was very little heat in these words.

"Why were you sent to Camp Half-Blood?" Chiron asked Jason, repeated his earlier question.

Jason took another deep breath. "To ask for an alliance." The Roman admitted. "Even if it would be only for this one war."

"Do you even have the power to offer such a thing?" Chiron asked him whilst the remaining demigods were listening intently.

Jason nodded. "There are only two demigods in the entire Camp Jupiter who have this power, these are the praetors." He said. "And unless this changed during my absence I still am one of them."

"How will your campers react upon this alliance?" Annabeth asked in return. "I know us Greeks were in several wars in the past."

The daughter of Athena pointed her eyes momentarily at Chiron and glared at him through narrowed eyes. "Wars which were fought against more than merely monsters and which did not involve the Amazons."

Another wave of chattering rose up above the stone seats.

Jason paused for a moment and took a deep breath. "Only the highest officers have the right to decide over peace, war and accepting or denying an alliance. Unless a deity deems it fit to intervene by himself or herself, this gives me as a praetor the last word over these decisions."

Jason paused for a moment.

"Reyna, my fellow praetor, is the only one who can go against me in this..." Jason told them before pausing before another moment. "And I do believe she trusts my judgement enough to give it a chance."

Although," he added almost like an afterthought, "there are those who will be giving us both as much grief over this offer as they possibly can."

"If Clarisse end up being found by those legionaries of yours," Chris asked him with a deceptively calm voice, "what will happen?"

Jason took a deep breath and waited for a few more moments before answering that question.

"Honestly, if that happens before I can make this alliance official," Jason admitted with far softer voice, "there are several possibilities but only a few of them are good for her."

He took another breath. "We've met up with a few isolated bands of demigods throughout the war with the Titans. Most of those attacked us upon sight and we returned the courtesy in return."

These words crushed the chattering of the Greeks almost instantly.

"And the good options?" Chris asked him in return, retaining that deceptively calm tone of voice.

"She needs something or someone to defend her, something which makes clear upon the spot that she isn't an enemy." Jason told them. "Her best bet is either Persephone, Juno or her father intervening before she reaches the camp."

Jason paused for another moment. "Or she needs to be found in a state that makes it obvious that she can't be a threat for a while."

"Reyna is unlike to intervene to save her." Jason continued. "Not without a good reason, not merely for a stranger." He pointed his eyes at Chris. "How far do you think will Persephone go to save her?"

Chris smiled bitter in return but it was Annabeth who replied. "For one of her best friends? She'll slaughter her way through every single legionary Rome once fielded and laugh at their suffering whilst doing so."

Annabeth shook her head. "Persephone is many things, but even remotely reasonable when those she cares about are threatened is not one of them."

"Few people are." Jason interjected calmly whilst staring at Chris.

Said boy returned Jason gaze with an equal calm before closing his eyes and smiling softly, almost dreamingly.

"I am willing to accept this alliance." He told Jason. "I believe you if you claim that neither of the Camps can survive facing the Giants or Gaia in open conflict."

He opened his eyes again. "I will fight side by side with your legionaries, save as many of them as I can and kill monsters in numbers you haven't even witnessed before." He said with the same calm in his voice. "But if Clarisse has been killed by a Roman hand and this war ends, no matter what happens or has happened, I swear to you that I will kill...every...Roman...legionary...for as long as I live."

Chris gave him a kind smile after those words.

"And just so we're clear, I am quite certain I am not the only one thinking like that."

Several of the Children of War grinned cruelly or nodded in return whilst gazing at Jason.

"Aren't you Greeks supposed to be peaceful artisans and philosophers?" Jason asked him, only half sarcastic.

Again it was Annabeth who replied. "There is not a single coast in the Mediterranean which did not receive Greek colonists or had hoplites, pirates and raiders wage a war there and therefore knows our blood. Trust me when I say that Greeks don't fight like heroes, heroes merely imitate Greeks."

Jason merely chuckled in return. "Let's hope you do." After those words he found his smile disappearing, "because I have seen the opposition and I am not looking forward to the confrontation."

It was Chiron who intervened to steer the conversation back into the right direction.

"The Gods made it so that Greeks couldn't send an Iris-message to Romans." He paused for a moment. "And considering our inability to contact Persephone with such, it seems rather likely that she is now considered one of these."

"You want me to use one of those Iris-messages to contact Reyna and Persephone?" Jason suggested, more than a little bit intrigued by the Greek way messaging.

"Unless you have a more sure Roman way of contacting them," Annabeth said rather mockingly. "I suggest you get used to doing things the Greek way."

Jason ignored Annabeth's tone. Like her he remembered a lot of stories about battles between demigods and other demigods, it was for that reason that he distrusted her. It had a reason why Minerva was a mere goddess of crafts in a society obsessed by war and strength whilst the Greeks worshipped Athena as a deity of wisdom and war. There were too many stories about the so-called children of this goddess to trust her and Jason couldn't help but wonder whether he had made a mistake in giving her and her siblings a way to access to his Camp.

"Whether that works or not," Chris commented whilst Chiron handed a golden coin to the Roman demigod, "How are we going to get to your camp? There are hundreds if not thousands of monsters around the border and far more will be travelling throughout the states, furthermore only the Gods know how many of those will be surrounding your Camp."

Chris tapped the hilt of his sword whilst looking at the teenager. "We'll require an entire army just to travel to your camp and we'll risk losing half of them in the journey alone."

He paused for a moment to stare into the direction of the stables. "Depending upon the distance we might be capable of sending a number of Pegasi-riders though, Kymopoleia's Raiders might do the trick, even more so if Persephone is indeed with the Romans."

"Kymopoleia's Raiders?" Jason asked him.

Chris made a negligent motion with her hand. "Persephone named them after one of her half-sisters, they're among the best horsemen and swordsmen in the Camp." He smiled momentarily. "A band of madmen and –women who served as Persephone's own bodyguard and personal strike-force throughout the war."

Jason shook his head in return. "Trust me, the Roman Camp is too far for them to reach it in one go."

"It is worth a shot." Muttered Sherman, one of Clarisse brothers and nowadays one of the main-leaders from the Children of War.

"Your sister trusted me with your safety, Sherman." Chris reminded the teenager harshly. "Your safety and that of your siblings, as well as the rest of the Children of War. I won't be going to explain to her why you're dead without offering her a damn good reason why. **Impatience is not one**!"

* * *

The massive Titan stared down upon the Goddess.

"Hello, Atlas." Hera said. "It has been a long time, has it not?"

"Hera!" growled the General. "If only I had the chance to wrap my hands around your neck."

He spat upon the ground, his spittle hitting the earth only a few feet of the Goddess' sandals.

"How...charming." muttered Hera dryly. "I see those years of imprisonment have done no favours to your manners."

"What do you want from me?" He asked her whilst ignoring her words.

"Quite a bit, frankly." She admitted. "The Giants are rising, Porphyrion awoke not even a full day ago."

Atlas chuckled roughly. "What of it? You expect me to help you in return? Let them, they're more inclined to get me from underneath this pain in my neck then you are!"

"I assume you knew that this would happen if you're own attacks failed?" Hera asked him in return.

The Goddess paused momentarily. "Why else," she continued, "did your relatives put such an emphasis upon gathering the support of demigods?"

Atlas shrugged or at least he somehow succeeded in raising his shoulders a bit despite the weight pressing down upon him.

"What if we did? What if we didn't?" He said in return with some obvious glee in his voice.

He chuckled again. "Tell me who do you think is more suitable for carrying the Heavens? Artemis, Heracles or Athena?"

"What makes you think your allies can win this war when they failed to do so a year ago?" Hera asked him in return.

"I am not the Titan of Endurance and Strength, The General of the armies of Lord Kronos himself for no reason." Atlas reminded her. "Unlike the fools which you call son and daughter, I know all about war."

"You're here for a reason, Goddess and the Apples won't be it, they might return some strength to you but even a thousand apples won't give you the strength worthy of a true queen." Atlas told her arrogantly.

"Thus tell me, Goddess?" Asked Atlas. "What are you offering, what is now worthy of your life and remains so when the war has ended and you have lost everything that matters?"

Hera shook her head. "You are right about my own power," She admitted, "but wrong about everything else."

The Goddess smiled and started to change. She was visibly shrinking and de-aging whilst her skin gained a Mediterranean complexion and her hair grew in length whilst becoming more and more dishevelled.

"What?" Asked Atlas in surprise.

"No, you weren't wrong, Atlas." Hera said whilst retaining her own voice. "I am still Hera the Queen of the Olympus and not the Monster slayer.

Hera lips curled into a smile which was far crueller than anything the original Persephone could have shown to Atlas during their own confrontation. Nowadays however, there were a great deal of residents of Tartarus who were aware that Persephone's smile could be just as sadistic and cruel.

"I want you to look at me carefully!" She told the titan, "I want you to realise that for the next fifty years the picture of my daughter will be tattooed upon the back from your eyelids."

"There will be no negotiations, whether we win or not, you won't be the one to profit from this conflict." Hera continued. "This is for your own daughter which you killed and every tear and sleepless night the act brought forth."

"What are you ..." Atlas started obviously panicking whilst struggling against the weight of his burden as if he tried to escape.

Hera slowly raised her left arm up and exposed a single large bangle which adorned her wrist. This bangle was made from gold and the soft metal had been inscribed with numerous curling lines.

"No!" Whispered Atlas when he recognised the jewel for what it was.

"Yes!" Replied Hera whilst the gold began to expand and revealed numerous layers of gilded brass and oak.

Atlas squeezed his eyes shut before the sight could paralyse him but he knew that there would be no escape.

He felt something sharp and curved pierce the skin of his face and he sighed before biting down when the curved beak of the bird and its claws began carving into his cheek.

There was no escape and he swore loudly whilst opening his eyes. He caught a glimpse of a large vulture and then far below the animal there was a green, scaled face with large tusks which were surrounded by numerous, writhing snakes.

Hera smiled whilst tapping upon the rim of the original Aegis before she began to prepare for sapping the Titan's strength. This was at least one Titan who wouldn't be able of coming to the aid of Gaia or the Giants. It had taken her a month to lose the majority of her strength, it would take the same amount of time to regain not even a third of it, but it was a start even if it might take her years before she would be back at her old level.

* * *

 **For those who wonder about Annabeth's remark, this is her paraphrasing a comment from Churchill about the Greek resistance during the invasion from the Italians and later the Germans.**

 **Sadly no actual appearance from Persephone this time, but she'll be back in the next chapter. (*Chuckle*, even main-characters deserve a break)**


End file.
